Despite soaring solar and wind power installations, China launched construction of as many as 94.5 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power projects in 2024, the highest level since 2015, new research showed on Thursday.
China also approved 66.7 GW of new coal-fired power capacity in 2024, as approvals picked up in the second half after a slower start to the year, found the report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM).
Apart from the new coal power construction starts, China last year resumed construction of 3.3 GW of suspended projects.
All these approvals and construction start to signal that “a substantial number of new plants will come online in the next 2-3 years, further solidifying coal’s role in the power system,” the report says.
China added 356 GW of wind and solar capacity in 2024 alone – 4.5 times the EU’s additions and nearly equivalent to the total…
