BEIJING, Sept. 8 -- China's capital Beijing has seen a rapid growth in the use of renewable energy as the country moves toward a clean-energy economy.
Beijing utilized renewable energy equivalent to 5.43 million tonnes of standard coal, or 7.6 percent of the city's total energy consumption last year, according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform Saturday.
The city pledged in a five-year-plan to lift the share of renewable energy in the total energy consumption to at least 8 percent by 2020. The figure was 3.3 percent in 2010 and 6.6 percent in 2017.
Renewable energy comes from sources such as the sun, wind, and terrestrial heat.
Around 31.1 percent of Beijing's renewable energy came from solar power last year, the biggest source.
Beijing has been cutting coal consumption and promoting the use of gas and renewable energy for better air quality in recent years. Remarkable results have been achieved.
The average density of PM2.5, a key indicator of air pollution, was 58 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing last year, meeting the target set by the State Council, and 20.5 percent less than in 2016.