Essay by Eric Worrall
“… The government’s response [to energy shortages] was to signal that it wanted more coal plants …”
Why China is building so many coal plants despite its solar and wind boom
China has significantly increased its coal power capacity, reviving concerns about its climate-changing carbon emissions
ByKEN MORITSUGU Associated Press
February 3, 2026, 5:42 PM…
Overall, China brought 78 gigawatts of new coal power capacity online, a sharp uptick from previous years, …
…
China added 315 gigawatts of solar capacity and 119 gigawatts of wind in 2025 …
The massive growth in wind and solar begs the question: Why is China still building coal power plants and, by most analyses, way more than it actually needs?
The answer is complicated.
China is at an earlier development stage than the United States or Europe, so it needs more energy to keep growing. If more of the nation’s 1.4 billion people climb into the middle class, more will be able to afford air conditioners and washing machines.
…
Power shortages in parts of China in 2021 and 2022 reinforced longstanding concerns about energy security. Some factories temporarily halted production and one city imposed rolling blackouts.
The government’s response was to signal that it wanted more coal plants, leading to a surge in applications and permits for their construction.
…
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-building-coal-plants-despite-solar-wind-boom-129805102
I’m so confused. I thought renewables were cheaper than coal. And China is the king of building cheap batteries. So why would China need 78 gigawatts of coal to back up 315 + 119 = 434GW of renewables?
Could it be that renewables + backup is not a viable solution to a nation’s energy needs, even when the people implementing that solution are the global leaders of manufacturing green energy components?
Of course Western apologists and Chinese propagandists insist that China has special needs, that the coal is just temporary. If China abandons renewables all green hope is lost, so they’ll tie themselves in knots trying to excuse China’s skyrocketing carbon emissions.
But nobody builds a new coal plant which they intent to shut down in the near future, those coal plants will still be humming long after all of China’s wind turbines and solar panels are dust.
For affordable electricity, there are 460 coal plants under construction. Another 500 have been permitted or are about to be, with an additional 260 new plants expected to be announced. The vast majority of all this activity is in China and India.
The Chinese population is declining so it must be AI that is causing this power quest. New tech is Supercritical CO2 turbines instead of steam…..steam is 40% efficient and Supercritical CO2 is 50% – just needs more development time. There is lots of tech development going on – H2 from hydrolysis has been improved – a new electric motor produces 250hp and fits inside a 19 inch wheel – sodium batteries may replace lithium ones. Back in the 1930s GM produced the Diesel-Electric locomotive and it was a huge advance beyond coal-steam. There is much more tech stuff going on today…..including “nooklear”
I believe not in India whose government is fully drunk on AGW and Davos agenda.
Google AI says:
How many nuclear power plants does China have?
As of early 2026, mainland China has 59 nuclear power reactors in commercial operation.
China currently has the world’s fastest-growing nuclear energy program, with more reactors under construction than any other nation.
Me thinks that those ” backups ” are and will be the main source of energy
and that the renewables are Potemkin-style so they can keep on selling their renewable devices.
The top image is unfair to Unicorns. Most of us are fond of the creatures.
Maybe you can produce a stylized image of Al Gore or someone else on the “Climate Hall of Shame”.
As to why all the wind and solar: Perhaps they are sopping up excess production that keeps thousands of people employed (housed, fed, off the streets, not protesting). In the future the next generation can likewise be satisfied by dismantling all the W&S.
Al Gore with a single horn growing from his forehead
Or two small ones from each temple?
Not necessary. Just lengthen his nose by a Pinocchio-appropriate amount and you’ll have the same effect.
Al Gore has what “looks like” a single blunt horn on his forehead, but with a bulge either side of its base.
I did try to make a Chinese unicorn but I couldn’t get the eyes right.
Al Gore – Climate Shaman?
The top image is unfair to Unicorns. Most of us are fond of the creatures.
Maybe you can produce a stylized image of Al Gore or someone else on the “Climate Hall of Shame”.
As to why all the wind and solar: Perhaps they are sopping up excess production that keeps thousands of people employed (housed, fed, off the streets, not protesting). In the future the next generation can likewise be satisfied by dismantling all the W&S.
Find of them, but never seen one. Kinda like Bigfoot.
The turbines won’t be dust .
They will be massive rebar concrete blocks buried across vast landscapes .
Old cold war era soviet concrete mega-military monuments are fun artifacts.
Likewise abandoned olympic games infrastructure like concrete bobsled tube supports.
Someday, glossy photos of abandoned wind turbine platforms surrounded by cows grazing in grassy fields will make an excellent coffee table book.
Forgot USA auto factories in Detroit. Photos of the abandoned Chrysler plant are amazing.
After the US loses the EV race you will be able to admire far more abandoned car factories.
Land around wind turbines is already used for other things like livestock.
There is also Agrivoltaics
There are EV races?
Ok.
yep.
Our local supermarket has 4 charging stalls.
You should see the line-up on a Sunday evening, and the race to jockey for the next available stall.
(there’s usually a least one that is offline, so the race gets even more intense.)
How irrational are people who buy an EV when they haven’t checked the ready availability of adequate numbers of charging facilities?)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4qe0wv9yyo
WOW!
Even the BBC reporting on races for EV charger places.
HERETICS! BLASPHEMY!
How about you have your charger infra structure at home, but you want to go for a nice ski holiday up country?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsane/comments/1hugtaq/teslas_mostly_in_the_middle_of_sweden_waiting_in/
This is the line in Malung Sweden for all the green Stocholmers going for their winter vacation. A LONG line
Battery efficiency drops during cold Svensk winters and the people in that very long line need to keep themselves warm using their batteries. Their batteries need to heat the batteries to prepare them for charging. What happens if you drain your battery flat while you are waiting? Will people try pushing these very heavy EVs to the chargers?
If the battery discharges and it is cold, the battery needs to be replaced.
Charging under those conditions is a serious risk.
Either NASCAR or the Indy circuit tried an electric car series. The problem was that the fans grew bored during the 30 minute pitstops.
😄😆😅🤣😂
Race to the bottom.
and also burial grounds for raptors and other birds that got sliced & diced by the windmills blades.
What an impressive legacy 🙁
The best way to lose the EV race, is by competing in it in the first place.
Almost nobody buys a second EV, it’s always one and done.
Beyond that, unless people are paid to buy them, nobody wants one. Look at what happens to sales every time the subsidies are cut.
Government depts and corporate lease plans work supplied vehicles make up a significant number of EV vehicles sales.
Who knocks back a free ride?
Wiki (agrivoltaics) claims solar farms: “and can provide shelter for livestock.”
Right.
“Agrivoltaics work well only for plants that require shade and where sunlight is not a limiting factor. Shade crops represent only a tiny percentage of agricultural productivity.”
Reading it is amusing. Thanks for the laugh.
Yes, in China.
A “race to make the best inferior car” is not an intelligent pursuit.
I think I’ll keep my reliable diesel.
Yeah I wouldn’t have confidence taking my ride to that crew for a lube, tyres, brakes & suspension service.
(but just for a laff, I might ask them to tune the carby as well, then refuse to pay for the hours they spent looking for it 🙂 )
LOL 🙂
I’m sure they’d be more than happy to give you a lube.
That is a race the US will be happy to lose.
Trolling yet again.
There is an interesting discussion to be had about the evolution of the car and personal transportation markets, and the role that EVs will end up playing in them. But that will take looking at some numbers. Don’t want to do that, do we?
I looked at the links you supplied. Its not that land around the turbines is ‘already’ being used for agriculture. Its that the turbines have been located, the land based ones, where agriculture was happening, and it still is. But the real issue with wind turbines is the off-shore ones, the cost of servicing and renewing them, and the cost of trying to get a system with dispatchable power when using them, and the cost of getting the power they generate to the point of demand.
Turn then to the agrivoltaics link. And here the issue is right bang in the middle of the piece:
Some crops/livestock benefit from the increased shade, obviating the trade-off,[8] such as green leafy vegetables, and spices such as turmeric and ginger, whereas staple crops such as wheat, rice, soybeans or pulses require more sun.[9]
Yes, the land is not a total loss to all agriculture. But its a severe impairment, and it makes the land useless for the most important crops. The claim seems to be that the panels provide shade. Don’t be ridiculous. If shade was so profitable it would have been done long ago, and by methods a lot cheaper, more efficient and less obstructive to cropping than putting up solar panels.
The agenda is: increase electricity demand by moving to EVs and heat pumps, while at the same time reduce supply and raise its price by moving (or pretending to move) to wind and solar. And equally important, plan on doing this without investing in the local distribution grid. Nonsense. A recipe for rationing and blackouts.
Its up to those advocating this insane agenda to show it makes sense. No-one ever has, they just keep on trolling sites like this where people are calling out the emperor’s nakedness.
Folks, don’t feed the troll. It just encourages them. All they are trying to do is provoke and get a reaction. Just ignore them.
In hot and sunny country like India for example, perhaps shade could be good for grasses. And grass would be good for livestock. India suffers from fodder shortage in dry season.
CREA/Global Energy Monitor (GEM) publish an annual survey of ‘China Coal Power’, the latest in August 2025.
This is what they say about unreliables
“Renewables are 60% of installed capacity….. but there is a widening disconnect between capacity growth and actual power production”
As for coal
“Faced with constraints in grid flexibility and market mechanisms Local Authorities have largely defaulted to coal power as the fastest and most controllable way to secure dispatchable capacity”
Well the towers and generators are recyclable metals but the blades will end up in landfills or just big piles somewhere no one will see. Same as everywhere else once it becomes clear that maintenance /replacement costs can’t be justified.
“China is at an earlier development stage than the United States or Europe…” Yes, it’s because the West embraced industrialization, technology, Capitalism, and Democracy. The narrative that they need to “catch up” when their technology and industrialization equals or surpasses any country in the world puts the ‘developing’ nation meme to rest. China’s idea of ‘catching up’ is to limit everyone else’s growth.
The “progressives and greens” ignore Chinese ff development and they ignore the thousands of people that the Iranian regime murdered.
And people like you,whenever they come up with their hilarious BS, ignore the millions the USA has killed all around the world whenever you are trying to go provoke a conflict against Ira… Syri…Lyb…Russ…Taiw…oh sorry,I lost count, It’s Iran this time ,
while gladly believing that the bullshit that Iran killed thousands of people,
while ignoring that even Israel openly admitted that Mossad is arming the
” protesters”.
The same terrori…freedom fight…protesters who always fight alongside USA and Israel whenever they are needed,but never attack the 2 countries they pretend to hate most.
Why do you think the “protests” mostly happened in the west of Iran and why they died down as soon as Starlink got jammed.
Hard to coordinate Wall Streets regime change terrorists when communication is down, isn’t it?
“the millions the USA has killed all around the world? Uh, do you have any details on the millions? You don’t live in Iran…Russia……China…Syria…Libya…Cuba ….Venezuela….I guess?
I note with interest that you posted this in English. If not for the armed forces of the USA you would likely have to be fluent in Russian, German, or Japanese.
I have an unfounded suspicion that SxyxS is fluent in Russian.
It’s Iran this time ,
while gladly believing that the bullshit that Iran killed thousands of people,
The photos and videos of Iranian hospitals and morgues overflowing with corpses are fake, are they? The thousands of people who have lost family members are lying, are they?
It’s astonishing to find someone on this board prepared to support a vicious theocratic dictatorship like Iran.
Pretty sue his screen name means “nazi” in some other language.
Given Solar and Winds dismal capacity factors, especially in Winter it’s far too likely that the new Coal capacity brought online is to firm Actual Projected Generation from Wind and Solar.
315 GW nameplate for solar might produce 50 GW during the Summer months but likely not more than 20GW in the winter and Zero after 4pm.
119GW of wind might produce an average of 48GW when wind is optimal but will produce nothing if nature choses NOT to deliver the “Free Fuel”.
And neither will produce anything useful on still winter nights.
So on paper it looks like wind and solar have massive increases in Nameplate Capacity but when capacity factors are taken into account they aren’t providing more Energy than the New Coal assets.
And they’ll need replacement several times over the lifespan of the Coal Generation Plants.
“The Ship of Theseus is a philosophical paradox exploring whether an object that has had all its components replaced remains fundamentally the same.”
Does that hold for us too? Given that our cells are replaced every several years or so.
Maybe. It’s a philosophical dilemma you have to figure out for yourself.
Pour yourself a glass of Dilemmanade and ponder the situation.
Apoptosis is a constant for our cells.
I had an axe. The handle broke. I replaced it with the same sort. I took it on a trail work party, and a fool chipped the blade. I replaced it with one just like it.
Best darn axe I ever had.
Similar experience.
I was given an axe when I turned 15.
Did countless hours of fire wood collection with it.
I still have my wood collection axe 63 years on.
It’s only had 6 new handles and 3 new blades.
Still works & looks like new.
(Wish my many-replaced-parts body was the same 🙁 )
Given the huge population and need for farmland, we can only wonder where China can put much more wind and solar energy “farms”.
They build them in remote deserts where they often sit idle for years awaiting grid connection. Because the scrap value is far less than the cost to dismantle the logical plan is to after 25 years abandon them to rot in the environment. China knows the future is nuclear; there will be no remote desert located solar farm replacement.
China is a very large country with far fewer people than the official population. Chinese population projections are based on year on year growth, however the actual birthrate is only 1.1 children per married couple. This means that China’s population has been shrinking since Mao’s one child policy was implemented.
Nameplate power production is a bad joke for solar arrays. My 3.125 kW rooftop system has been “producing” for over 10 years. It has never, even momentarily, produced more than 2.8 kW. The total production over 10.3 years is 26 mWh. If the system were producing at nameplate, the production would have been 282 mWh. The actual production is 9.2% of nameplate.
If all solar systems were rated at actual projected power, the actual nameplate would be roughly 1/10 of the advertised nameplate. This is the figure that should be used to calculate solar power costs.
Nameplate would be realistic for space based solar systems, but definitely not for earth based systems.
How much more electricity was generated from coal compared to 2024?
How much more “reliable energy” did coal generate than those “Massive” nameplate quantities of Wind and Solar???
Virtually All as Wind and Solar aren’t “Reliable” energy sources.!!
It went down 1.6%. Coal only.
China’s current electricity mix by actual generation (consumption) — not nameplate capacity (2024–2025).
China electricity generation mix (actual output)
Coal & lignite
Wind
[lowcarbonpower.org], [ember-energy.org]
Solar (PV)
[lowcarbonpower.org], [ember-energy.org]
At what cost, during what period of demand, and requiring how much material and land area per unit of energy delivered? Do an honest comparison and see how that works out.
The reality is that China is mainly interested / engaged with the lucrative manufacturing and exporting of wind & solar plant to willing buyers in Western countries.
Not so committed to installing & using these contraptions themselves.
That’s for we stupid net-zero Gweilo.
Every marketer knows you have to demonstrate to prospects your unfettered belief that your product is the best thing since sliced bread, so you pretend to use it yourself at every opportunity.
Remember the cheesy tv ads that used to start with -” 9 out of 10 doctors use and recommend [insert cigarette brand]”
Reliable, economic, abundant coal is what those clever, long-term thinkers in China have determined to be the most appropriate fuel for their needs in their current 5-year plan.
(and I’m sure they can get nuclear power plants sited, built and commissioned inside 5 years if they need to. They don’t shackle themselves with endless site studies & approvals processes like we do)
FIFY
Wait, no it couldn’t be. No way that China is simply gaslighting the western world about energy in order to give themselves an advantage. Because that would be wrong.
It’s a mystery.
CO2 is not carbon.
To put it in perspective, from that ABC article:
“At the same time, even larger additions of wind and solar capacity nudged down the share of coal in total power generation last year. Power from coal fell about 1% as growth in cleaner energy sources covered all the increase in electricity demand last year.“
Ah so your theory is they are building coal plants for fun or out of nostalgia.
Eric, just wanted to point out that you forgot about Natural Gas additions to China’s power grid. An approx. 15 GW addition for that fossil fuel (or abiotic fuels if that’s your belief). I’m not sure it helps with your comparison to wind and solar? 😉
No. In the current state of China demand growth, any generation can make money. But W&S are growing faster.
But their output isn’t.
Please remember to factor in, say 20% factor for wind, and even less for solar, since it doesn’t work for a large portion of the day.
China is expanding its industrial base. Wind and solar cannot ever supply that demand.
Coal output, in MWh/year, as a fraction fell by 1%.
“Coal output“
The web says: “In 2024, China imported approximately 281.8 million tons of coal, making it the largest importer of coal in the world. This accounted for about 6% of its total coal consumption.”
Is output just internal stuff?
If a dozen small old and inefficient coal facilities are replaced by one new one and coal demand falls, is that a bad thing?
Wow, as much as that?! (sarc)
Coal fired electricity will be locked in for decades.
No room for erratic wind and solar
Bing Videos
And of course China’s heavy manufacturing continues to expand, which can only use fossil fuels and some hydro because wind and solar are too erratic and basically USELESS
Ah so your view is they are choosing coal over cheaper renewables in some cases because Chinese don’t mind a lower profit margin.
Individual Chinese who have a permit can make money with coal. They may not be able to choose.
Huh? I thought Xi Jinping was enthusiastic about green energy.
Are you saying that someone who really wants a renewable energy permit but only has a coal permit can’t pick up the phone to the central committee of the CCP, and have their permit amended to a renewable energy permit?
Permitting Trend: 25 GW was permitted in H1 2025, which, while lower than the 2022–23 peak, indicates continued approval momentum.
Construction Surge: In 2024, 94.5 GW of new coal projects started construction, representing 93% of the global total.
Project Drivers: Permits are largely driven by energy security concerns following power shortages, with large-scale units (>600is greater than 600
>600 MW) dominating, especially in 2025.
Provincial Leaders: Top provinces for new approvals in 2024–Q1 2025 include Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, and Jilin
That is hardly individual Chinese … that is very very centralized and organized and they cite very different reasons from you. Want to try again with another deflection?
Nick you are deflecting why are they building coal power stations at all?
Should that money not be being spent on more wind and solar?
There is all your free energy to be harvested you keep telling us about.
CREA/Global Energy Monitor are a Finish/Australian outfit that publish annual surveys of China’s coal power. The latest one in August 2025.
“Renewables are 60% of installed capacity but THERE IS A WIDENING DISCONNECT BETWEEN CAPACITY GROWTH AND ACTUAL POWER PRODUCTION.”
“Faced with constraints in grid flexibility Local Authorities have largely defaulted to coal power as the fastest way to secure dispatchable capacity
In a country with 50 ghost cities why should we not assume that many solar and wind farms are standing around idle, built to satisfy targets but not actually producing any power?
Nick, have you ever traveled in China? I have. W&S are not lighting the cities at night, let alone running 24/7 factories.
Does “cleaner sources” include hydro and nuclear?
In China, the manufacture of wind turbines and solar panels is a devastatingly filthy and polluting industry.
I guess you could work out how much money was spent on all those intermittent generation sources just to bring down the coal demand by 1%.
Money well spent. I don’t think so.
Maybe the decline in coal was due to nuclear?
In the US, the reduction in coal use was driven by inexpensive natural gas.
With the huge real estate crash in China, demand for rebar and cement has fallen dramatically. This alone could account for the 1% drop on coal use.
Ok. So the question is, if solar voltaic and wind turbine generation are so good, why are the Chinese building any coal fired plants, let alone hundreds?
The ABC article was based on a report by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
CREA is an anti-“fossil” fuel organization.
We use 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. We believe that effective research and communication are the key to successful policies, investment decisions and advocacy efforts.
CREA is registered as a nonprofit in Finland, with staff across Asia and Europe. Our work is funded through philanthropic grants and revenue from commissioned research.
One source. No verification.
At the same time, even larger additions of wind and solar capacity nudged down the share of coal. So, the question becomes why was coal generation just “nudged” if all the additional wind and solar was added? You’d think coal power would be shoved/tossed/massacred with all the added renewables generation. (edit: I believe that was the point of Eric’s posted article/commentary)
“Covered.” LOL. If they look at total generation and quietly ASSUME what wind and solar “produced” was “produced” where and when needed maybe. Which is highly doubtful.
Energy supply in China.. wind and solar are basically non-essential.. a minor add-on
(click chart to enlarge)
“China has significantly increased its coal power capacity, reviving concerns about its climate-changing carbon emissions”
Is China itself concerned about the climate change implications for its huge population? Obviously not.
Is India concerned about the climate change implications of China’s emissions, for its own huge population? Also obviously not, as they too are pushing coal.
Are these coal plants “backup” to wind and solar? Obviously not. They are dispatchable, reliable, baseload units.
Should ANYONE be concerned about the climate change implications? No. The climate change implications are negligible to begin with. You think the CCP doesn’t know this?!?
This is not that hard to figure out.
Thank you for listening.
The report clearly identifies China’s pursuit of cola fired electricy generation is to keep the grid stable.
REVIVING concerns?! China is the biggest “emittor” in the world. When did the Climate Nazis become “unconcerned” about China’s “emissions?!”
China is building coal plants because coal plants provide the energy they need. Wind and solar do not. And if “most analyses” are counting the wind and solar in their calculations of China’s “needs,” said “analyses” are either delusional or idiotic.
Not to anyone with a brain. The answer is simple. Coal produces power ON DEMAND. Wind and solar DO NOT AND CANNOT.
Oh, and GREEN China?!
😄😆😅🤣😂
COAL can power a modern industrial society that operates basically 24/7
Wind and solar can NEVER do that
Wind and solar are more of a parasite, creating instability in the supply network.
“China is building coal plants because coal plants provide the energy they need” WHEN THEY NEED IT!
You CANNOT keep the lights on in major cities like Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, each with populations exceeding 18 million, using wind and solar.
They need dispatchable electricity 100% of the time
I want to say this author is being obtuse, but I don’t think that’s the perfect term.
‘Green China’ is an oxymoron.
This is just another reminder that the countries that are claiming to be committed to wind and solar are just doing so for propaganda purposes. In reality they’re going to fall back on fossil fuels because they can’t afford to face the consumer and business/industrial backlash guaranteed when it would become obvious that renewables can’t deliver Naturally the mainstream media can be expected to downplay or omit mention of any of the above facts.
The
Chinese are not fools, but they believe, with a great deal of justification, that white people are fools.As near as i can tell, their beliefs conform to reality.
How much wind and solar someone builds means nothing. What matters is how much fossil fuel and nuclear they build to keep the lights on. Something wind and solar can’t do. Wind and solar are comparable to ocean shore sand castles. Some castles are beautiful magnificent structures and there is no question those who built them are talented but in the end they serve no productive purpose and will disappear with the next tide. One other difference is while some sand castles are little more than a mound of sand some take your breath away wind and solar farms are always ugly.
Percentage capture/removal ranges for each pollutant for the ~93% of new Chinese coal units that are ultra‑supercritical and designed to meet China’s ultra‑low‑emission standards,
These percentages come from measured stack data, unit‑level studies, and national monitoring datasets, not vendor claims.
Bottom‑line summaryFor the ~93% of new Chinese coal plants that are ultra‑supercritical and built to ultra‑low‑emission standards:
Everything except mercury is squarely within U.S. BACT performance ranges. Mercury control is partially BACT‑equivalent but not MATS‑equivalent where U.S. plants use carbon injection.
Note: U.S Mercury standards are an Obama era tool with the intent of destroying coal generation, not an environmental or health standard.
Its pure marketing !!
If you don’t buy the junk yourself how do you expect to sell it, however naive your customers.