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China has slowed down approvals of new coal power projects as its renewable energy adoption soars, a report from a think tank has found.
Nevertheless, while the number of new coal power permits has decreased, the existing pipeline of projects “remains substantial”, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said. It warned that the upcoming projects mean that China’s climate targets and energy transition ambitions are at risk.
China undertook a surge in coal power permits in 2022 and 2023, with 100GW in approvals annually in both years. But in the first half of 2024, China reduced the number of permits by 83% compared to the same period last year, permitting only 9GW of new generation.
The country still undertook construction on over 41GW of coal projects in the first half of this year, and the government’s goal of bringing 80GW of coal-fired capacity online in 2024 suggests that completions could ramp up in the latter half of the year.
According to Global Energy Monitor’s annual survey of global coal power units, China alone accounted for two-thirds of coal-burning power capacity in 2023.
While it is still approving new projects, albeit at a reduced rate, the G7 group of industrialised nations – consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – recently agreed to entirely phase out coal by 2030 and fully decarbonise electricity by 2035.
CREA said the slowdown in China’s coal power permitting was largely due to the rapid development of clean energy, which is now being installed at levels sufficient to meet the country’s electricity demand growth.
“To meet long-term emission targets, China must also accelerate the retirement of existing coal plants and cancel previously permitted projects,” CREA said.
“Given China’s strategic shift towards reducing carbon emissions and the rapid development of clean energy, it is unlikely we will see another surge in coal power approvals in China similar to that of 2022-2023.”
Nevertheless, China’s technical plans to “reduce rather than eliminate” carbon emissions from coal power and its continued use as a baseload power source suggest it will still play a significant role in the short term at least.
“The development of clean energy enables the Chinese government to set more ambitious goals for reducing coal power generation and carbon emissions. China needs to stop allowing room for fossil fuel emissions to grow in its policies. Energy security should be achieved through clean energy and a more flexible, market-oriented power grid, rather than by burning coal,” said Qi Qin, lead author of the report at CREA.
“The steep drop in new coal plant permits is a hopeful sign that China’s massive solar and wind builds are dampening its coal ambitions,” said Christine Shearer, research analyst at Global Energy Monitor. “With clean power now capable of meeting the country’s electricity demand growth, China should cancel its remaining coal proposals and accelerate the retirement of its existing coal plants.”
