Coal power transition in China: A discussion paper

This discussion paper by Ember reviews the development of coal power in China during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and proposes policy entry points to transition coal power from a primary energy source to a supportive role providing flexibility and backup capacity for a decarbonised grid.

• During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), China continued to expand its coal power capacity, although the pace was slower than originally planned. This expansion served four primary goals: addressing local supply shortages, replacing inefficient subcritical units with supercritical and ultra-supercritical ones to improve technical efficiency, providing industrial and residential heating to reduce the use of dispersed coal ("散煤"), and supporting West-East Electricity Transmission projects to move power from western and southwestern provinces to coastal clusters such as the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei.
• Several systemic and political factors contributed to the continued growth of coal capacity, including the enthusiasm of local governments for coal projects, quota-based dispatching, and inefficiencies in the carbon market, such as the free or excessive allocation of emissions permits. Additionally, the transition is hindered by the inertia of power system operators and negative externalities where overinvestment leads to lower revenues distributed across all plants.
• The report identifies four policy entry points to transition coal power into a supportive role for wind and solar penetration: 1) Unlocking coal from current pathways by addressing sunk costs, local government fervour, and socio-economic concerns in coal-dependent regions; 2) Implementing market reforms, such as capacity payments and strengthening the ancillary services market to manage supply-demand imbalances; 3) Improving coordination between coal and electricity policies to avoid supply shortages like those seen in 2021; and 4) Shifting governance toward a learning-based, reflexive process to manage the complexity of the transition.
• The 2021 power crisis demonstrated a lack of coordination between coal and electricity policies. While extreme weather and high demand increased the need for coal power, supply was constrained by measures related to corruption, environmental protection, and mine safety, which were implemented without considering the impact on the electricity system.

APA

Ember (2022). Coal power transition in China: A discussion paper. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-power-transition-in-china-a-discussion-paper

Chicago

Ember. Coal power transition in China: A discussion paper. 2022. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-power-transition-in-china-a-discussion-paper.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Coal power transition in China: A discussion paper |date=10 May 2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-power-transition-in-china-a-discussion-paper |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2022coal, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Coal power transition in China: A discussion paper}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-power-transition-in-china-a-discussion-paper}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }