China New Coal Approval Reduces Transition Signals: Report

China’s new approvals for coal capacity this year were significantly less than last year, according to a report by Finland’s Clean Air and Energy Research Center. This signals the country’s determination to rely more on wind and solar.

“With new renewable energy developments now able to meet all of China’s incremental electricity demand, the need for new coal is declining and there are signs that the central government may embrace this change,” CREA said. quote by Reuters.

A report by Greenpeace East Asia, published earlier this week, found that new coal capacity approvals fell by nearly 80% in the first half of the year compared to a year ago. The amount of new capacity approved during the period was 10.3 GW, the report said.

Wind and solar capacity, meanwhile, had the largest share of new additions, the Greenpeace report also found, noting that the total installed capacity of the two alternative generators exceeded China’s total installed coal capacity at 11.8 TW, compared with 11.7 TW. for coal.

“This economic powerhouse has transformed clean energy from a component of climate policy to a cornerstone of China’s broader energy and economic strategies,” the Clean Air and Energy Research Center said.

Even so, coal’s share of China’s energy mix is ​​still the highest at 71% in 2023. That’s a modest drop from 73% a decade ago, and there have been further declines this year, with bigger than before. reserved in May, when only coal accounted for 53% before returning to 65% in July.

While CREA is pretty sure that the drop in new coal capacity is a signal of a pivot to wind and solar, Greenpeace isn’t so sure.

“Are Chinese provinces slowing coal approvals because they have already approved so many coal projects in this five-year period? Or are these the last gasps of coal power in an energy transition that has seen coal become increasingly impractical? Only time can tell,” Gao Yuhe, Greenpeace East Asia project leader said Reuters.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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