New coal power plant projects in China hit the highest level in nearly 10 years, report says

BEIJING (AP) — China's power industry began construction on nearly 100 gigawatts of new coal plant capacity last year, the most in nearly a decade, a report from two clean-energy groups said Thursday.

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FILE - Guohua Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates in Dingzhou, Baoding, in the northern China's Hebei province, Friday, Nov.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) FILE- A slogan depicting former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and the slogan "Development is the hard truth" in the rural outskirts of Jinan in eastern China's Shandong province on March 22, 2024.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) FILE- Guohua Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates as people sell items on a street in Dingzhou, Baoding, in the northern China's Hebei province, Friday, Nov.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) China Coal 1 of 3 FILE - Guohua Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates in Dingzhou, Baoding, in the northern China's Hebei province, Friday, Nov.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) BEIJING (AP) — China's power industry began construction on nearly 100 gigawatts of new coal plant capacity last year, the most in nearly a decade, a report from two clean-energy groups said Thursday.

The development raises concerns about the ability of the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter to meet its climate goals and threatens to undercut China's massive expansion in solar and wind power, which has far outpaced that in the United States and Europe, the report said.

"Instead of replacing coal, clean energy is being layered on top of an entrenched reliance on fossil fuels," it said.

The report is part of a review of China's coal projects done every six months by the Europe-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the U.S.-based Global Energy Monitor.

Construction began on 94.5 gigawatts of coal power plant capacity in 2024, more than in any year since 2015, according to a worldwide database of coal plants maintained by Global Energy Monitor.

"A substantial number of new plants will come online in the next 2-3 years, further solidifying coal's role in the power system," it said.