BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
China surged ahead with a record expansion of wind and solar power in 2025, yet at the same time sharply increased construction of coal-fired power plants, reviving global concerns about whether the world’s largest carbon emitter can curb pollution fast enough to slow climate change.
More than 50 large coal-fired generating units — each with capacity of at least 1 gigawatt — were commissioned across the country last year, according to a research report released Tuesday by energy and environmental analysts. That compares with fewer than 20 such units brought online annually during most of the previous decade. A single gigawatt of power can supply electricity to anywhere from several hundred thousand to more than 2 million homes, depending on consumption patterns.
In total, China added about 78 gigawatts of new coal-fired capacity in 2025, a dramatic increase from recent years. The figures were compiled by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and Global Energy Monitor, two organizations that track power-sector development and its environmental impact.
“The scale of the buildout is staggering,” said Christine Shearer, a co-author of the report and an analyst at Global Energy Monitor. She noted that China commissioned more coal-fired capacity in a single year than India added over the entire past decade.
The expansion comes even as China continues to dominate global renewable energy growth. Government data show the country added roughly 315 gigawatts of solar power capacity and 119 gigawatts of wind capacity in 2025, far exceeding installations in any other nation. Those additions were large enough that coal’s share of total electricity generation actually fell by about 1% last year, as renewable output covered all of the increase in power demand.
That contrast highlights the central question raised by analysts: why China is still building large numbers of coal power plants when renewable energy capacity is expanding at such a rapid pace.
The answer, experts say, lies in a mix of economic growth, energy security concerns and policy decisions made in the wake of recent power shortages. China remains at an earlier stage of development than many Western economies, and rising living standards among its population of about 1.4 billion people are pushing electricity demand steadily higher. As more households enter the middle class, energy-intensive appliances such as air conditioners and washing machines are becoming more common.
At the same time, Beijing is determined to keep factories running at full capacity and to support the rapid growth of energy-hungry sectors such as artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, which the government views as strategic priorities.
Power shortages in 2021 and 2022 intensified longstanding worries about energy security. In several regions, factories were forced to curtail production, and at least one city imposed rolling blackouts. Those disruptions were politically sensitive and prompted a swift policy response.
The government signaled that it wanted more dispatchable power sources that could run regardless of weather conditions, triggering a wave of applications and permits for new coal plants in 2022 and 2023. Many of those projects reached completion last year, driving the sharp jump in capacity, said Qi Qin, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and a co-author of the report.
“Once permits are issued, projects are difficult to reverse,” Qin said, adding that the lag between approval and completion explains why coal capacity surged in 2025.
The report found that construction began on an additional 83 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity last year, suggesting that further increases could come online in the near term unless policies change.
Chinese authorities argue that coal plays a necessary supporting role in a power system increasingly dominated by renewable energy. Wind and solar output fluctuates with weather conditions and time of day, while hydropower — another major source, particularly in western China — can be disrupted by droughts, as happened in 2022.
In official guidance issued last year, the National Development and Reform Commission said coal should continue to serve as an “important underpinning and balancing” resource, even as efforts intensify to make coal plants cleaner and more efficient. Industry groups have echoed that view, saying coal-fired generation remains essential to maintaining grid stability during periods of peak demand or low renewable output.
Critics, however, warn that building so much coal capacity risks slowing the transition to cleaner energy. Once plants are constructed, political and financial pressures often keep them operating for decades, potentially crowding out wind, solar and other low-carbon sources, Qin said.
The report urged Chinese policymakers to accelerate the retirement of older, less efficient coal plants and to use the country’s next five-year plan — due for approval in March — to commit to ensuring that power-sector emissions do not rise between 2025 and 2030.
Whether China’s renewed coal buildout ultimately leads to higher carbon emissions, analysts say, will depend on how the plants are used. If coal is largely confined to backup and balancing roles, the climate impact could be limited. If it continues to serve as a primary source of electricity, the consequences for global emissions targets could be far more severe.
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