Inside China’s Coal Plants And Pollution Shuffle Game
www.forbes.com
China's investment in renewables masks its consistent over-reliance on fossil fuels. While China boosts green tech exports, it doubles down on coal at home.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40459734

[…]

In the past few years, China has been ramping up its construction of coal plants, partially eschewing climate targets for greater domestic energy production. China’s coal construction totaled an output of 94.5 GW in 2024, the highest number in 10 years, the equivalent of approximately 90 nuclear reactors.

[…]

China is turning the clock backwards on its market-driven reforms; the country’s coal boom isn’t reflecting market pressures, but rather Beijing’s top-down campaign for energy security. With the surge in coal plant construction, operational inefficiencies are undermining the industry’s sustainability. China’s average coal plant operating hours have fallen to 4,628 hours a year, or about 53% of a year. This means the average Chinese plant sits idle for nearly half the year, signaling severe underutilization.

[…]

To counter […] market challenges, Beijing is artificially boosting demand. The National Development and Reform Commission of China, the country’s economic planner, asked domestic buyers to focus on purchasing from the northern regions to offset the excess supply there. It also directed a 10% increase in thermal coal reserves, stockpiles used for heating and electricity, continuing the trend of inflating demand.

[…]

The proliferation of coal and cheap domestic energy, no matter how inefficient, has another impact: increasing Chinese exports. With sometimes literally free energy, producers of green tech products in China, such as EVs and Solar Panels, have no choice but to look overseas. This embraces the core competencies of the traditional method of Chinese growth since 1979, export-led development, while simultaneously serving China’s foreign policy objectives by burnishing its image as a green energy superpower providing renewable tech to the world.

[…]

  • SebaDC@discuss.tchncs.de
    6·
    2 months ago

    So… More plants, but less coal consumption. Meanwhile, they install PV and wind turbines like there’s no tomorrow.

    • Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal. In 2024, coal accounted for ~60% of China’s electricity generation, while wind, solar, hydro, nuclear contributing most of the remainder (wind and solar countributed around 9% each).

      China produces almost 5 billion tons of coal per year. This is more than half of the global total production volume.

          • SebaDC@discuss.tchncs.de
            5·
            2 months ago

            Considering that this website does not consider the footprint of imports and travel (e.g. incoming tourists), you must be joking, right?

            A country like France (mostly nuclear with low footprint) has a big chunk of is Gdp coming from tourism and produces close to nothing anymore. They import everything.

            So of course, their score would be high. But if you look at the full picture, it’s just horrible.

            Anyway. I work in the renewable and meet 10 blind/arrogant/ignorant people with the same arguments every week ✌️

            • Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.orgOPEnglish
              1·
              2 months ago

              Considering that this website does not consider the footprint of imports and travel (e.g. incoming tourists), you must be joking, right?. … I meet 10 blind/arrogant/ignorant people with the same arguments every week ✌️

              The CAT tracks whether a government is doing its “fair share” compared with others towards the global effort to limit warming consistent with the agreed Paris Agreement.

              Regarding imports: China reduced its coal import in the first 7 months of 2025 by 13% year-on-year because it has been ramping up its own coal production.

              China is the world’s biggest polluters against all comparable metrics.

              It’s not just your lack of argument but also your tonality that is unfortunately so widespread on Lemmy, turning the platform into a dumping ground for totalitarian propaganda.

              • SebaDC@discuss.tchncs.de
                2·
                2 months ago

                The Paris agreement focuses on inland emissions and fails to consider the emissions related to imported products. Do you understand this concept?

                It means that a country with only services, that imports all the (physical) products they consume will de facto be doing great, while the country manufacturing the goods will go poorly.

                Guess who organized and decided in Paris? The occident, who was relocating their production to Asia. Pretty convenient 🤣

                Additionally, comparing absolute values is meaningless, because a country like Liechtenstein cannot be compared with China.

                Finally, the projections are calculated linearly, although the rate of installations of PV and wind turbines in China is growing exponentially. So these projections benefit the West (which actually mostly sees a linear YoY growth).

                If my tonality hurt your feelings, that’s not really my problem. Is it?

              • tane69@lemmy.worldBanned
                2·
                2 months ago

                Most propagandized moron you’ve ever seen: it’s totalitarian propaganda to say anything positive about China!!!