China’s construction of coal-fired power plants | World Mining

China’s construction of coal-fired power plants – World Mining News

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China’s coal plant construction surged last yr to the very best degree in virtually a decade, conflicting with President Xi Jinping’s promise that carbon emissions would peak earlier than 2030, researchers have stated.

In a report launched on Thursday, the think-tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) stated that whereas China added a report 356GW of wind and photo voltaic electricity-generating capability in 2024, it additionally started building coal power plants with 94.5GW of capability, probably the most since 2015.

The new construction, in addition to the resumption of suspended initiatives with one other 3.3GW capability, boosted coal’s position within the power system of the world’s second-largest economic system regardless of its push into renewables, the report stated.

“Instead of replacing coal, clean energy is being layered on top of an entrenched reliance on fossil fuels,” stated the report, which was lead authored by Qi Qin, China analyst at Helsinki-based Crea, and Christine Shearer of California-based GEM. “The parallel expansion of coal and renewables risks undermining China’s clean energy transition.”

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for about 30 per cent of the worldwide complete.

But it is usually quickly developing renewable vitality — its enlargement of wind and photo voltaic vitality capability last yr was practically equal to the overall put in within the US. Xi has pledged the nation will attain peak carbon dioxide emissions earlier than 2030 and web zero emissions by 2060.

“China has always been a doer in climate response and is firmly committed to green and low-carbon development,” stated a senior Chinese official. “Our carbon emissions intensity has kept decreasing, the share of non-fossil fuel in total energy consumption has steadily increased.”

But the Crea and GEM report argued that structural components in China’s power era industry meant the surge in coal plants may impede the transition to renewable vitality.

Electricity consumers have been locked into long-term coal power buying agreements that penalised them in the event that they fail to buy contracted volumes. This discouraged them from prioritising clean vitality, the report stated.

Coal mining firms have been additionally funding 75 per cent of newly authorized coal power capability, driving new initiatives even “when market fundamentals do not justify it”, the report stated.

“Coal and clean energy are increasingly competing for space in China’s power system. In the fourth quarter of 2024, despite slowing electricity demand growth, fossil fuel generation remained high, while solar and wind utilisation dropped sharply,” the report stated.

Other analysts stated that half of the explanation China was building more coal plants could possibly be its lack of a unified national market.

This meant totally different areas constructed their own coal plants to offer native “load following” — power used to stability out fluctuations from renewables — doubtlessly creating capability that might not be needed if there was a national market.

Coal plants and renewables had totally different economics, the analysts stated. Coal plants typically acquired “capacity payments” for being able to make electrical energy accessible to the grid to back up renewables.

“For the most part, coal competes with other coal,” stated David Fishman, senior supervisor on the Lantau Group, a consultancy.

Fishman stated China’s coal plant fleet was working at about 50 per cent capability. Construction of more coal-fired power stations would “on the whole” imply decrease use of their capability, he stated.

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