China's 1-km Wind & Solar Survey Expands Nationwide to Cut Siting Risk

For renewable developers and grid operators, weather is no longer an external factor; it is core project data. China's decision to expand a 10-year, one-kilometer-resolution solar and wind survey from six pilot provinces to the entire country shifts climate data from forecasting into long-term infrastructure planning. The move could directly affect project bankability, curtailment assumptions, and the sizing of storage and transmission.

China's meteorological services took a step from public forecasting into infrastructure-grade data provision on September 12, 2026, when the China Meteorological Administration announced the nationwide expansion of its wind and solar resource survey at the 5th Meteorological Economy Forum, held during the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing. According to the announcement reported by Xinhua, the survey had previously operated as a pilot in six provinces and will now apply nationwide. Its underlying dataset spans more than ten years of hourly observations at one-kilometer spatial resolution. The CMA says the expanded survey will generate detailed 'meteorological genetic profiles' for prospective wind and solar projects, supporting site selection, risk assessment, and the configuration of renewable generation with storage and transmission capacity.

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Xu Xiaofeng, president of the Chinese Meteorological Service Association, argued that the survey goes beyond assessing how much wind or solar resource exists.

The operational logic was illustrated by a wind farm facing an approaching typhoon. Instead of treating a forecast as a simple warning to shut down, operators can use granular predictions to time turbine shutdown and restart decisions, cutting unnecessary closures and losses of power generation. This is the core shift underlying the forum's theme: weather services are no longer separate from economic planning; they are embedded in it. Xu Xiaofeng, president of the Chinese Meteorological Service Association, argued that the survey goes beyond assessing how much wind or solar resource exists. It evaluates resource endowment alongside development risk, including whether the resource is stable over time and whether wind and solar potentials are complementary. That distinction is critical. A site with a high average wind speed but frequent typhoon or icing events may be less attractive than a site with more moderate but predictable output.

The national rollout has direct implications for renewable energy development. In China, the world's largest producer of wind and solar equipment and one of the largest installers of renewable capacity, even small reductions in early-stage project risk can shift investment decisions. A unified dataset covering the entire country gives state-owned developers, private companies, and grid planners a common analytical baseline. It can support capacity auctions, grid connection studies, and insurance underwriting. Xu said the survey would provide a unified and reliable data foundation for renewable energy planning, helping with decisions on project siting and the sizing of wind, solar, storage, and transmission systems.

Private-sector weather companies are moving in the same direction. Moji Weather, once best known as a consumer weather app, is expanding into industry-specific services for energy, aviation, and rail transit. Jin Ruichao, general manager of the company's government and enterprise business department, described the approach as similar to a chef preparing a customized meal: combining meteorological capabilities with operational information to serve industry-specific decisions. That analogy reflects a broader productization of climate data. The value does not lie in the raw forecast alone, but in how the forecast is translated into operational action, whether it is rerouting rail traffic, adjusting flight schedules, or optimizing turbine output.