China’s construction of coal power stations hit 10-year high in 2024

The starts on new coal-fired power came despite the fact that China also commissioned 356 GW of wind and solar last year, meeting its 2030 target of 1,200 GW of renewable capacity six years ahead of schedule.

China has retired more than 100 GW of obsolete coal-fired power in the last decade, according to its energy regulator, and new projects can only be built to provide back-up for renewable energy bases.

The country is the world’s biggest coal consumer and emitter of greenhouse gases. It had vowed to “strictly control” coal power over the 2021-2025 period, but power shortage concerns have led to a spike in new projects since 2023.

“If coal maintains a high share in China’s power system for too long, it will be much harder to achieve a rapid decline in emissions,” said Qi Qin, researcher at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), who authored the report.

Renewable power, however, is struggling to compete for space on China’s grid, with utilisation rates falling sharply near the end of last year, Thursday’s report also said.

China has promised to start cutting coal use over the 2026-2030 five-year plan period as it works to bring its emissions to a peak before the end of the decade.

This has created incentives for the industry to lock in as much coal capacity as it can ahead of new restrictions that could come into effect as early as next year.