China’s power demand increased by 4.4% in 2022

In 2022, China's power demand grew by 4.4% (374 TWh), with wind and solar generation increasing by 26% to meet 69% of the net demand increase. Despite this clean energy growth, coal generation reached an all-time high in absolute terms (5,420 TWh), though its share of the electricity mix fell to 61%. Since 2000, China's total power sector emissions have increased fivefold to 4,694 MtCO2, even as emissions intensity declined by 21%. To reach a net zero power sector by 2040, China would need to reduce emissions by 261 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

• China's power demand grew by 4.4% in 2022, adding 374 TWh, which represented more than half of the total global demand increase. This growth rate was lower than the 6.5% average since 2010, attributed to the impact of zero-COVID policies.
• Wind and solar generation grew by 26% (+259 TWh) in 2022, meeting 69% of the net demand increase. Wind power accounted for 9.3% (824 TWh) of generation, while solar accounted for 4.7% (418 TWh).
• Coal generation reached an absolute record high in 2022 at 5,420 TWh, rising by 1.5% (+81 TWh). However, the share of coal in the electricity mix decreased by two percentage points from 2021 to 61%.
• Between 2000 and 2022, China's total power sector emissions increased fivefold to 4,694 MtCO2, while emissions intensity fell by 21% to 530 gCO2/KWh.
• To achieve a net zero emissions power sector by 2040, as per the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario, China must reduce power sector emissions by 261 million tonnes of CO2 annually, reversing a trend where 177 million tonnes were added each year since 2015.

APA

Ember (2023). China’s power demand increased by 4.4% in 2022. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/country-and-region-deep-dives-ger2023/

Chicago

Ember. China’s power demand increased by 4.4% in 2022. 2023. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/country-and-region-deep-dives-ger2023/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=China’s power demand increased by 4.4% in 2022 |date=12 April 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/country-and-region-deep-dives-ger2023/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2023chinas, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{China’s power demand increased by 4.4\% in 2022}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/country-and-region-deep-dives-ger2023/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }