Hydropower generation jumped 16% from January to April in China

While thermal power generation was mostly flat.

Hydro power generation rose 16% y/y from January to April 2015, which was attributed to an increase of 8% in installed capacity and an increase of 7% in utilization hours.

According to a research note from Barclays, meanwhile, wind power generation for the first three months of 2015 was 26% higher y/y, mostly due to strong wind speeds, driving higher utilization hours.

For thermal power, meanwhile, cumulative thermal power generation was most flat y/y in the first four months of 2015 as installed capacity grew 6% y/y while utilization hours dropped 10% compared with the same period last year.

Here's more from Barclays:

Despite the lower utilization, thermal IPPs’ profit margins continued the upwards trend in 2015, rising to 16.5% as of March 2015 compared with 14.1% for the same period last year, according to data from China’s Ministry of Finance.

We note that power consumption from the secondary industries, the largest power consumer in China, fell 1% in the first four months of 2015 compared with a rise of 5% for the first four months in 2014.

Nuclear: Nuclear installed capacity remained flat in April as no new plants were connected to the grid in April. However, the pace of new project approvals is expected to pick up as the China Nuclear Energy Association says China may approve construction of eight to 10 nuclear reactors in 2015.

Meanwhile, construction began for Unit 5 of Fuqing NPP, which will house China’s first indigenously designed Hualong One nuclear reactor.