BEIJING / TOKYO – China ‘s inability to rely on coal power threatens to undermine the country’ s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Last year, China built enough coal-fired power plants to supply 38.4 gigawatts of electricity, data from U.S. Global Energy Monitor shows show, far higher than the 8.6 GW from retired plants . This net gain in capacity, equivalent to 30 nuclear facilities, suggests that coal will remain king in China in the future.
China Electricity Council industry group in a report in February called coal energy as a cornerstone in maintaining sustainable power infrastructure. Despite the growth of renewable energy, coal-fired thermal power can “make a significant contribution,” said Yu Chongde, the council’s vice president and general secretary.
A state-of-the-art coal-fired plant in rural Gansu province began operating commercially in November, using equipment made by Harbin Electric, a state-owned enterprise.
The plant significantly reduces emissions of sulfur dioxide and other substances, and replaces an old undeveloped facility, so the station is considered a contributor to disarmament. Its location in a coal mining area eliminates the carbon dioxide that would be produced by transporting the fuel.
The Chinese government has determined that home-produced coal is essential to meeting the country’s energy needs. Electricity production from renewables remains below reliable, with China’s electricity demand climbing 3% last year despite the economic downturn caused by pandemics.
“We aim to achieve high CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060,” President Xi Jinping said in a speech to the United Nations in September. To realize that vision, China has moved to expand capabilities in wind, solar and nuclear power.
Nationwide electricity generation capacity jumped 190 GW last year. The wind accounted for 71.6 GW of the total while the supply added 48.2 GW, as both sources outperformed the additional coal capacity.
Chinese experts predict that total wind, solar and nuclear energy capacity will more than triple by 2030 from last year. These renewables are expected to account for 47%, up from 27%. Thermal power share in the electricity mix fell 16 points over that decade, but remained the main source at 41% in 2030.
Chinese coal-fired engine builders have used the technology and cost competitiveness amid strong domestic demand to export the facilities. Harbin Electric built a plant in Dubai that opened last year, the first of four to go online by 2023.
Dongfang Electric and Shanghai Electric Group are also building thermal plants overseas. Like China, several other Asian countries rely on coal as a sustainable energy source to stimulate economic growth. Construction of new coal engines over shutdown last year was in India, Vietnam, Indonesia and elsewhere.
But it is clear that the rest of the world is moving away from coal. Outside of China, coal plant capacity moved by 17 GW on a net basis during shutdown compared to new construction, Global Energy Monitor data show.
The U.S. dropped 11.3 GW of coal resources while not building new plants. President Joe Biden is expected to move the country further toward renewable energy as it prioritises fighting climate change. The UK, which is trying to phase out all coal mining by 2025, shut down huge capacity last year.
In Japan, new coal plants have bypassed retirement. The government plans to phase out or shut down inefficient plants by fiscal measures by 2030. But that strategy indicates that high-efficiency coal plants will continue to be used.
Coal fuel plants are at risk of becoming tied assets, or tenancies that do not provide value for balance sheets. External pressure owners are responsible for removing the power stations.
Japanese companies are scrambling to respond to the decarbonization trend. Jera, the country’s largest power generation agency, has pledged to achieve net carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, setting the goal ahead of the government.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. confirmed. Holdings and Chubu Electric Power worked their thermal energy to create Jera, which now accounts for more than 10% of Japan’s carbon emissions. Jera plans to take hydrogen for gas and replace ammonia with coal.
At Utility Electric Power Development, also known as J-Power, low-efficiency coal plants contribute 36.8% of total electricity generation. The company is looking to develop technology to capture carbon dioxide produced by power plants and capture the byproduct that lies beneath the ocean.
Japan’s three megabanks have said they will reduce all outstanding funding toward coal-fired power projects to zero.