From the Associated Press, February 3:
Why China is building so many coal plants despite its solar and wind boom
Even as China’s expansion of solar and wind power raced ahead in 2025, the Asian giant opened many more coal power plants than it had in recent years — raising concern about whether the world’s largest emitter will reduce carbon emissions enough to limit climate change.
More than 50 large coal units — individual boiler and turbine sets with generating capacity of 1 gigawatt or more — were commissioned in 2025, up from fewer than 20 a year over the previous decade, a research report released Tuesday said. Depending on energy use, 1 gigawatt can power from several hundred thousand to more than 2 million homes.
Overall, China brought 78 gigawatts of new coal power capacity online, a sharp uptick from previous years, according to the joint report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, which studies air pollution and its impacts, and Global Energy Monitor, which develops databases tracking energy trends.
“The scale of the buildout is staggering,” said report co-author Christine Shearer of Global Energy Monitor. “In 2025 alone, China commissioned more coal power capacity than India did over the entire past decade.” ....
....MUCH MORE
Here's the report the AP is drawing on for the statistics:
Built to peak: Coal power expansion runs out of room in China
February 2026
About CREA
The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) is an independent research organisation focused on revealing the trends, causes, and health impacts, as well as the solutions to air pollution. CREA uses scientific data, research, and evidence to support the efforts of governments, companies, and campaigning organisations worldwide in their efforts to move towards clean energy and clean air, believing that effective research and communication are the keys to successful policies, investment decisions, and advocacy efforts. CREA was founded in Helsinki and has staff in several Asian and European countries.....
*****
....MUCH MORE
Most recently on China and coal:
September 17, 2025 - "China’s Coal Power Can Win The AI Race"
The price of electricity is a big factor in determining who can go farthest, fastest.
Which sort of sucks.
September 21, 2025 - "China Accelerates Coal Plant Commissioning To 9-Year High"
August 2023 - "China Has Approved More Than 50 Gigawatts Of New Coal Power"
....Every year there's a new excuse.
As we said in June 2021's "Who Is Helping Finance China's Coal Infrastructure Build-Out?":
If you guessed HSBC you may already be a winner.
Or you may be a coal financier with knowledge of the business.
China has no intention of stopping their own coal development or that of their client states in Asia and Africa.* They make lovely, soothing speeches about climate and stuff and build $30 billion dedicated coal hauling railways....
When you see infrastructure like
this being built you know the nice words from the Chinese are aimed at
the stupid and credulous:
March 2021 - China Does Not Plan To Stop Burning Coal
Run-through rail car dumpers at the Port of Huanghua in Hebei. pic.twitter.com/BD5Th5s2eu
— MachinePix (@MachinePix) February 9, 2021
Stunning aerial view of China's longest coal transport route, a heavy-loaded #railway scheduled to be completed later this year pic.twitter.com/KHd9DyUohw
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) July 20, 2019
Some more from the Covid-time:
"Report: China emissions exceed all developed nations combined"
"China has ‘no other choice’ but to rely on coal power for now, official says"
China's Electricity Derived From Thermal (coal, oil, etc) Up 21.1% Q1 2021 vs. Q1 2020
One of our sources said the growth in thermal plant capacity* (not production) in 2020 was 38.4 gigawatts. This is the equivalent of adding a large (1,000 megawatt) coal plant every nine days. Every nine days.
Continuing that trend, coal plant capacity additions just in the first quarter of 2021 were 10,600 megawatts....
See also March 18's "China Energy Stats and Policy"
"China's new coal power plant capacity in 2020 more than three times rest of world's"
"China generated 53% of the world’s total coal-fired power in 2020"
Let's Get This Straight: China Has No Intention Of Giving Up Coal
Something we've been saying for so long I start to bore myself.
It's time to name (can't shame, they have no shame) the enablers of the massive long con China is running.
From the financiers backing Chinese coal to the lobbyists to the useful idiots to the UNocrats and the International Emissions Trading Association, to China's handmaidens in the American media, they are nothing but a bunch of liars and thieves
enablers, apologists and grifters. Supergrifters. The time is long past
when they deserve any attention at all and frankly, if I had my
druthers, they would be dealt with the way the IRA dealt with
Supergrasses. Not that we have any love for the IRA.
China Does Not Plan To Stop Burning Coal
"Report: China emissions exceed all developed nations combined"
Follow-up: Just How Much Coal Fired Power Is China Currently Planning/Building?"
Have I mentioned that China has been lying about their climate goals and decarbonization efforts for 25 years?
It wouldn't be worth commenting on except for the fact China burns quite a bit of coal.
- China Never Had Any Intention Of Quitting Coal
- "IEA urges India and China to put climate pledges into action as coal power generation reaches record levels"
- China Is Now Backtracking On All Those Nice Global Warming Promises They Made At COP26
- 'Global Warming": "Useful idiots' who let China off the hook: Why is there such an apparent lack of concern over their determination to keep burning coal"
....China is not just the largest burner of coal but it burns more coal than the rest of the world combined, and they have burned more coal than the rest of the world combined since at least 2014 and probably longer.....
And many, many more. Just call us your little ray of institutional memory sunshine on this stuff.
https://climateerinvest.blogspot.com/search?q=china+coal&max-results=20&by-date=true
