Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: Research shows that China has approved the construction of 106 gigawatts of coal-fired power capacity the previous year, four times higher than a year earlier and the highest since 2015.
Over the year, 50GW of coal power capacity went into construction across the China, up by more than half compared with the last year, driven by security energy considerations, the Centre for Research on Energy and the Clean Air and Global Energy Monitor said on Monday.
“The speed at which the project progressed through permitting to construction in yea 2022 was extraordinary, with several projects sprouting up, obtaining financing, gaining permits, and breaking ground apparently in months,” said a Global Energy Monitor analyst, Flora Champenois.
The amount of fresh capacity connected to the grid had slowed in recent years after the decline in fresh approvals over the 2017-2020, but it is set to rebound over the coming years, driven by concerns about power shortages.
Coal projects
Global Energy Monitor said that several of the latest approved coal projects were identified as “supporting” baseload capacity designed to ensure the power grid’s stability and minimize blackout risks.
The authors said that several were being built in regions that had a clear capacity surplus, and power supply issues would be better addressed by improving grid reliability and efficiency.
China suffered a wave of blackouts in 2021 due to coal supply shortages, cutting off thousands of houses and factories. A prolonged drought the previous year saw a dramatic drop in hydropower generations and electricity rationing.
China has been trying to rejuvenate its economy after growth and employment were hit by stringent zero-Covid measures the previous year, increasing concerns its low-carbon efforts would be sidelined.
Renewable power capacity additions remained at record levels, with solar installation at 87GW in 2022 and expected to increase further in 2023.
The country’s goals are to bring its climate threat carbon dioxide emissions to the peak by year 2030, but it remains unclear what level they would reach.
