New coal power plant projects in China hit the highest level in nearly 10 years, report says

Guohua Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates in Dingzhou, Baoding, in the northern China's Hebei province, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

BEIJING (AP) — China’s power industry began construction on nearly 100 gigawatts of new coal plant capacity last year, the most in nearly a decade, a report from two clean-energy groups said Thursday.

The development raises concerns about the ability of the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter to meet its climate goals and threatens to undercut China’s massive expansion in solar and wind power, which has far outpaced that in the United States and Europe, the report said.

“Instead of replacing coal, clean energy is being layered on top of an entrenched reliance on fossil fuels,” it said.

The report is part of a review of China’s coal projects done every six months by the Europe-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the U.S.-based Global Energy Monitor.

Construction began on 94.5 gigawatts of coal power plant capacity in 2024, more than in any year since 2015, according to a worldwide database of coal plants maintained by Global Energy Monitor.

Work also resumed on 3.3 gigawatts of suspended projects, the report said.

“A substantial number of new plants will come online in the next 2-3 years, further solidifying coal’s role in the power system,” it said.

The concern is that coal power will displace solar and wind capacity. The report said that in the last three months of 2024, electricity generation from fossil fuels remained high, while solar and wind utilization dropped sharply.

The new construction was expected following a surge in government approvals for coal-fired plants in 2022 and 2023, said Qi Qin, a China analyst for the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

“We urge China to refrain from starting construction on already-approved coal power plants to prevent further overcapacity, reduce emissions and align with its climate commitments,” she said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced two climate goals in 2020 — a peak in carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.

The country’s carbon emissions may have already peaked, analysts say, and the next challenge is to begin reducing them.

China was among the many nations that missed a U.N. deadline this week to submit a national plan to cut emissions by 2035.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the government is working on a plan and will submit it “in due course this year.”

The report from the two clean energy groups said that China accounted for 93 per cent of construction starts globally for coal power plants last year.

Proposals for new or revived coal plant projects in China fell last year to 68.9 gigawatts from more than 100 gigawatts the two previous years, suggesting that construction starts could slow, the report said.

The amount of new coal power capacity approved in China last year also fell to 66.7 gigawatts, after the sharp rise in 2022-23.

Ken Moritsugu, The Associated Press