China added the most number of new coal power plants last year despite being the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles (EV), a new report says.
China‘s continued construction of new coal power plants comes as the global community has demanded that Beijing reduce its reliance on coal for energy goals. Beijing insists that new coal power plants will operate as a backup to sporadic wind and solar energy, but the construction of new coal plants continues at a breakneck speed.
China accounted for 96 percent of new coal power construction globally last year, according to data released by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) on February 5. GEM has reported that China was the leading contributor to the construction of coal projects while accounting for 70 percent of the all-new coal-fueled power plants that came online.
China also added 81 percent of newly announced projects and 68 percent of new generators coming online, GEM said in their new report.
GEM has revealed that China added as much as 191 gigawatts of coal-fired power generation over the past five years, accounting for 64 percent of the new coal power projects worldwide between 2019-2023.
Experts have pointed out that China, rather than phasing out coal for energy generation, is rapidly increasing its use of fossil fuels.