China is by far the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, the single largest source of planet-warming carbon dioxide.
SINGAPORE – China issued approval permits to build coal power capacity equivalent to two large coal power plants per week in 2022, driven in part by surging growth in electricity demand triggered by the heatwave and record drought last year, a report published on Monday showed.
The jump in approvals, paradoxically, comes as China is dramatically ramping up investment in renewable energy, especially wind and solar, which the government hopes will meet growing energy needs and lead to less coal use.
Approvals were given to build 106 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity – roughly nine times Singapore’s total power generation capacity – the highest number of permit approvals since 2015.
Energy News Beat