{"id":368267,"date":"2025-03-02T11:29:44","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T10:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=368267"},"modified":"2025-03-02T11:29:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T10:29:46","slug":"chinas-new-coal-plant-construction-highest-since-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=368267","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s New Coal Plant Construction Highest Since\u00a02015"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air have published their biennial of China\u2019s coal projects, which finds that coal is still holding strong despite skyrocketing clean energy additions in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as <\/em>China\u2019s clean energy surged in 2024<\/em><\/a> and became a key economic driver, solar and wind utilisation dropped sharply in Q4 2024, which was not expected or explained by weather conditions, and coal remains strong, which ultimately goes against President Xi\u2019s 2021 pledge to phase down coal over the following five years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

China approved 66.7 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity in 2024, with approvals picking up in the second half after a slower start to the year.  At the same time, 94.5 GW of new coal power projects started construction and 3.3 GW of suspended projects resumed construction in 2024, the highest level since 2015, signalling a substantial number of new plants will come online in the next 2-3 years, further solidifying coal\u2019s role in the power system.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Figure \u2013 Progress of new coal power projects and retirements in China<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the clean energy sector has maintained rapid growth in recent years, emerging as a key driver of economic expansion in 2023\u20132024, the simultaneous large-scale expansion of coal power creates a conflicting dynamic. In 2024, China added 356 GW of wind and solar capacity \u2013 <\/strong>4.5 times the EU\u2019s additions and nearly equivalent to the total installed wind and solar capacity in the U.S. by the end of the year. This record-breaking expansion highlights China\u2019s leadership in renewables, yet instead of replacing coal, clean energy is being layered on top of an entrenched reliance on fossil fuels.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reality makes it increasingly difficult to achieve the principle of \u2018establish before breaking\u2019 which envisions scaling up clean energy before gradually phasing down fossil fuels. Although renewable powers have been deployed at an unprecedented pace, coal power has remained firmly in place, often limiting renewables integration and full utilisation. As a result, China\u2019s energy strategy increasingly resembles \u2018energy addition\u2019, rather than a fundamental shift toward clean energy and away from coal. This dual-track expansion raises critical questions about how effectively renewables can reshape the power system while coal power maintains its foothold.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key findings<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n