China’s photovoltaic (PV) generating capacity reached 106.9 million MWh in the first 11 months of 2017, increasing 72% year on year, Chinanews.com reported Tuesday.

It is the first time for the figure to exceed 100 million MWh in China.

Centralized PV systems accounted for 93.2 million MWh of capacity generated, and distributed systems 13.7 million MWh.

By the end of last November, China achieved an installed PV capacity of 125,790 MWh, accounting for 7.5% of the country’s total installed power generating capacity, up 2.7% compared to 2016.

According to the Department of New Energy under China’s National Energy Administration, PV power generation, which is expected to replace fossil energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emission and pollutants, will play a big role in protecting the environment.

The power generated through PV systems in China over the last year was equivalent to the consumption of 33 million tons of standard coal and the emission of 93 million tons of carbon dioxide, the department said.