Decoding the coal-power transition in China: facts, challenges, and opportunities

The report investigates the factors behind the acceleration of coal power approvals in China between 2022 and 2024, including rising power demand and energy security concerns. It details China's strategy to maintain supply continuity through flexibility retrofits and carbon-reduction pilots while proposing a transition toward clean power generation and storage technologies to replace coal's role in system reliability.

• China experienced a significant increase in coal power approvals during 2022 and 2023, reaching 1.6 times the total approvals seen from 2016 to 2021. While this trend slowed in 2024, approvals remained high at approximately 45 GW.
• The expansion of coal power is driven by several factors: rapidly increasing power demand, record-low river flow and hydropower output over 20 years, a lack of power-system flexibility, and energy security concerns. Regional drivers include limited alternative energy in inland provinces and renewable energy export incentives in northern provinces.
• China is implementing a transition strategy that maintains coal for supply continuity while improving flexibility and reducing carbon intensity. Since 2021, flexibility retrofits have been completed on over 300 GW of coal plants, with an additional 200–400 GW targeted for 2024–27. The country is also piloting carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and co-firing with lower carbon fuels.

APA

RMI (2025). Decoding the coal-power transition in China: facts, challenges, and opportunities. https://rmi.org/resources/decoding-the-coal-power-transition-in-china-facts-challenges-and-opportunities/

Chicago

RMI. Decoding the coal-power transition in China: facts, challenges, and opportunities. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/decoding-the-coal-power-transition-in-china-facts-challenges-and-opportunities/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Decoding the coal-power transition in China: facts, challenges, and opportunities |date=15 July 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/decoding-the-coal-power-transition-in-china-facts-challenges-and-opportunities/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025decoding, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Decoding the coal-power transition in China: facts, challenges, and opportunities}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/decoding-the-coal-power-transition-in-china-facts-challenges-and-opportunities/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }