BEIJING, April 19 -- Power generation from industrial enterprises, each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.91 million U.S. dollars) in China, rose 5.1 percent year on year in March, an official said on Wednesday.

In the period, the total power generation of the above-mentioned enterprises reached 717.3 billion kilowatt-hours, Meng Wei, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference.

Thermal power generation expanded 9.1 percent year on year in March, and nuclear power output increased by 4.6 percent from a year ago, said Meng.

Solar power generation rose 13.9 percent year on year last month, while wind power output edged up 0.2 percent, she said.

In the first quarter of the year, total power generation rose 2.4 percent year on year to 2.07 trillion kilowatt-hours, Meng said.