Most coal power plants since 2016 entered construction in China in 2021, investment in coal-based steelmaking accelerated

The document reports a surge in China's coal power construction and coal-based steelmaking investments in 2021, contradicting the country's carbon neutrality goals. It highlights that 33 GW of new coal power plants started construction in 2021 and 74 million tonnes of coal-based steelmaking capacity were approved. The report warns that these investments risk creating billions of dollars in stranded assets and lock the sectors into coal dependency, while noting a simultaneous but insufficient scale-up of clean energy.

• China saw a significant increase in coal power construction in 2021, with 33 GW of new plants starting construction, which is the highest level since 2016 and nearly three times the total of the rest of the world.
• Despite a freeze in permitting for most of 2021, coal power plant permitting resumed sharply in early 2022, with 7.3 GW of capacity cleared for construction in the first six weeks of the year.
• China's steel industry continues to rely heavily on coal, accounting for 85% of new coal-based steel projects globally. In 2021, 74 million tonnes of new coal-based steelmaking capacity were approved, which is 15 times the annual average additions in the rest of the world from 2016 to 2020.
• The continued investment in coal-based infrastructure creates a high risk of stranded assets. New coal-based steel projects initiated in 2021 are estimated to entail 70–110 billion USD in stranded assets, with coal power plants adding another 20 billion USD.
• While China is expanding clean energy, including targets for over 600 GW of wind and solar additions by 2025 from 11 state-owned firms, this growth is insufficient to meet projected electricity demand growth of 6% without continued coal use.
• There is a growing trend toward Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking, with the share of EAF in newly announced steelmaking capacity reaching a record high of 38.9% in 2021.

APA

Global Energy Monitor (2022). Most coal power plants since 2016 entered construction in China in 2021, investment in coal-based steelmaking accelerated. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/EN-China-coal-and-steel-briefing-Feb_2022_11.pdf

Chicago

Global Energy Monitor. Most coal power plants since 2016 entered construction in China in 2021, investment in coal-based steelmaking accelerated. 2022. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/EN-China-coal-and-steel-briefing-Feb_2022_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Energy Monitor |title=Most coal power plants since 2016 entered construction in China in 2021, investment in coal-based steelmaking accelerated |date=February 2022 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/EN-China-coal-and-steel-briefing-Feb_2022_11.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalenergymonitor2022most, author = {{Global Energy Monitor}}, title = {{Most coal power plants since 2016 entered construction in China in 2021, investment in coal-based steelmaking accelerated}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/EN-China-coal-and-steel-briefing-Feb_2022_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }