China’s power demand increased by 4.4% in 2022

This report by Ember analyzes China's power sector in 2022, noting a 4.4% increase in power demand and a record high in absolute coal generation, while highlighting the rapid growth of wind and solar power and the challenges facing China's path to net zero emissions.

• China's power demand grew by 4.4% in 2022, totaling 8,840 TWh. This growth was lower than the 6.5% average since 2010 due to the impact of zero-COVID policies, yet the increase of 374 TWh represented more than half of the total global demand increase.
• Coal generation reached an all-time high in absolute terms in 2022 at 5,420 TWh, rising by 1.5% (+81 TWh). Despite this absolute increase, coal's share of electricity generation fell to 61%, a two percentage point decrease from 2021 and a 17 percentage point drop from 78% in 2000.
• Wind and solar generation grew by 26% (+259 TWh) in 2022, meeting 69% of China's net demand increase. Wind power accounted for 9.3% (824 TWh) of generation, while solar accounted for 4.7% (418 TWh). Combined, wind and solar reached 14% of China's electricity generation, a significant increase from 3.9% in 2015.
• Other power sources showed limited growth in 2022: nuclear generation rose by 2.5% (+10 TWh), and hydro generation increased by 1.4% (+18 TWh). Hydro's share of generation fell to 15%, its lowest level since 2011, attributed to summer and winter droughts.
• China's total power sector emissions in 2022 were 4,694 MtCO2, five times higher than in 2000 (+415%, +3,872 MtCO2). While emissions intensity declined by 21% since 2000 to 530 gCO2/KWh, total emissions rose due to increased demand and coal use. To reach a net zero power sector by 2040 per the IEA scenario, China would need to reduce emissions by 261 million tonnes of CO2 annually, reversing a trend where it added an average of 177 million tonnes per 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} }