China Accelerates Coal Plant Commissioning to 9-Year High

Despite record solar and wind capacity additions and booming renewable energy output, China is not giving up on coal, on the contrary.  During the first half of 2025, China commissioned as much as 21 gigawatts (GW) of coal power, the highest amount in the first half of the year since 2016, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said on Monday in their H1 2025 biannual review of China’s coal projects.  Projections are that coal capacity commissioned for the full year would exceed 80…