During the early part of 2024, 10.34 GW of new coal power plants were approved for China. This figure increased to 11.29 GW during 2025’s first three months. This comes after the 2024 year-on-year decrease for the new approvals for the coal-fired power plants up to 62.24GW.
According to Gao Yuhe, 2025 will be a very critical year for China.
The Greenpeace East Asia Beijing-based climate & energy project manager noted the importance that China ensures that there is a decrease in the overall emissions from the power sector. Solar and wind power growth has outpaced coal since 2024.
The hopes are that if the trend persists, renewable energy could supply all of China’s new electricity demand by 2025.
A detailed exploration of this project
This will put the power sector back on its tracks to peak carbon emissions for 2025. This opportunity allows China to aim for an early emissions peak within the power sector. This forms a major precursor to the goal of a nationwide carbon peak. Greenpeace East Asia did a thorough study of the project approvals, reviews, environmental impact assessments, and other official documents.
The purpose is to track the new coal approvals that were made in China since the year 2015. They also further confirmed the new coal power plant approvals through 2024, as well as Quarter 1 of 2025. If one considers the 2025 additions, the total approved coal capacity that has been approved since 2021 now stands at 289 GW.
The energy issues that surround China
This is double the approved amount of 145 GW from the period 2015 to 2020 (the 13th Five-Year plan period). During 2024, there was a 41.5% year-on-year drop in the approvals to an amount of 62.24 GW. This has been the first annual decline that occurred since 2021. During Quarter 1 of 2025, the country’s installed solar and wind power capacity reached a total of 1,482 GW.
There are inherent risks involved with continued coal approvals. The accelerated approvals made by the western and eastern provinces since 2021 have placed China at a critical crossroads in its path. 2025 is an important year for China’s energy transition, especially since there is already enough existing capacity to meet the peak demand.
Some concerning issues for the planet
Further approval for more large-scale coal projects could have severe consequences. Stranded assets, higher transition costs, as well as overcapacity are just some of the things that will have to be dealt with. In the long run, this will severely influence the progress that has been made towards a flexible and cleaner power system.
At the moment, renewable energy is supplying an ever-increasing share of the power grid, but this has led to some key challenges. The larger-scale coal plants struggle with this task. They ramp slowly and maintain a high minimum output. The supply is inflated even during standby. It is a costly, dirty, and inefficient effort to rely on them for short-term balancing.
A modern, more resilient power grid works better with cleaner solutions. Currently, coal power plants in this country are a cause for concern. Especially concerning the environment, as these coal power plants emit some harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, as well as particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). At the moment, half of the country’s PM2.5 pollution can be traced back to coal burning. PM2.5 and PM10 are those tiny particles that, when inhaled, can cause some serious health issues. PM10 is an inhalable particle with a diameter of about 10 micrometers or smaller.
The PM2.5, on the other hand, is a fine, inhalable particle. It has a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller. It is able to penetrate deep into the lungs. It can penetrate the bloodstream and poses a significant health risk.
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