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 country’s ability to meet its carbon reduction 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.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced two climate goals in 2020 — a peak in carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.
China’s carbon emissions may have already peaked, analysts say, and the next challenge is to begin reducing them.
The report from the clean energy groups said that China accounted for 93% 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, report said.