BEIJING — China’s biomass sector generated 24.5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity during the first quarter of 2019, up 16.7 percent year-on-year, data from the National Energy Administration showed.

China added 970,000 kW of biomass energy capacity during the first quarter, bringing the total installed capacity to 18.78 million kW.

Biomass refers to biological materials or organic materials which are renewable and sustainable and could be used as a fuel source.

China has striven to develop renewable energy including wind power and biomass energy in recent years as the world’s largest energy market continues to shift away from dirty coal power toward cleaner fuels.

While the energy share of biomass remains relatively low compared to other sources of renewable energy, China plans to increase annual biomass power generation to 90 billion kWh by 2020.