{"id":30257,"date":"2026-02-18T10:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/china-hits-renewable-milestone-but-coal-isnt-going-anywhere\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T10:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:17:09","slug":"china-hits-renewable-milestone-but-coal-isnt-going-anywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/china-hits-renewable-milestone-but-coal-isnt-going-anywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"China Hits Renewable Milestone, But Coal Isn\u2019t Going Anywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->For the first time ever, China now has more operating power capacity from clean energy sources than capacity running on fossil fuels, thanks to a decade of booming solar and wind installations.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China, the undisputed global leader in clean energy investment, has 52% of operating power capacity coming from non-fossil fuel sources as of February 2026, while 48% of installed capacity is fossil fuel-based, according to data tracked by Global Energy Monitor.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CDS Widget\" src=\"https:\/\/templates.cds.yahoo.com\/remote\/widget?campaignId=e7a421f3-d559-4873-8479-82acee0600e3&amp;lineItemId=b295c53f-8d5d-4f2b-9a01-458f2e0f176e&amp;site=finance&amp;contentId=b7bacfe2-4191-3933-9297-9511af854f2f&amp;spaceId=1183300100&amp;providerId=oilprice.com\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"0\" data-testid=\"iframe-with-resizer\" class=\"yf-16wd5dt\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->For years, China, the world\u2019s biggest greenhouse gas polluter, has accounted for a large part of total global clean energy investment and has installed more solar and wind power capacity than the rest of the world combined.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China\u2019s clean energy capacity, including nuclear and hydropower, is soaring to record highs as the world\u2019s second-largest economy looks to have domestic energy sources \u2013 with the help of a massive supply chain of panels and batteries \u2013 meet an increasingly larger share of rising electricity demand.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->But Beijing continues to rely on coal, too, and its coal power capacity additions hit in 2025 their highest level in a decade. China has the world\u2019s largest coal power fleet and accounts for a massive 71% of total global coal power capacity under development, per Global Energy Monitor data.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China leads in both renewables and coal expansion to meet growing electricity demand. The clean energy boom has in no way made its coal power sector irrelevant.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Concerns about energy security prompt China to continue building coal-fired power plants, while coal capacity developers are rushing to install more gigawatts before more stringent emissions regulation potentially limit the growth.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China has as much as 674 GW of non-fossil power capacity under construction and 237 GW of fossil fuel capacity under construction, according to Global Energy Monitor.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Of the non-fossil fuel capacity under construction, China\u2019s 234 GW of utility-scale solar capacity is greater than the same figure for the rest of the world combined, the tracker showed.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Solar leads China\u2019s current power capacity in development, which includes construction, pre-construction, and announced capacity. Solar is closely followed by wind, hydropower ranks third, and fourth comes coal capacity expansion.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Coal is still very much alive in China despite the huge milestone of non-fossil sources now outpacing fossil-fuel installed capacity.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China continues to rely on coal for power generation to avoid blackouts and industry shutdowns during peak demand and periods of faltering hydropower when rainfall is scarce. <br \/>As of January 2026, China had 1,243 GW of operating coal power capacity, Global Energy Monitor data showed. A total of 501 GW coal power capacity was under development, although not all of this is expected to move to construction.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: none\" data-testid=\"read-more\">\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Over the past decade, China has added 362 GW of operating coal power capacity.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Last year, China\u2019s current coal power build-out cycle reached a new high, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) from earlier this month.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China commissioned 78 GW of coal power capacity in 2025, the highest annual total in a decade, even as coal power generation declined, and clean energy met all net growth in power demand, the report found.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->New and reactivated coal power project proposals surged to a record high of 161 GW, which accounts for 13% of the current operational capacity, the study showed.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->\u201cIf built, the projects proposed in just this one year would commit China to years of coal expansion beyond power demand growth and climate requirements, reflecting a rush by the coal industry stakeholders to advance projects ahead of tighter policy constraints,\u201d analysts at CREA and Global Energy Monitor wrote in the report.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China presses on with massive build-out and record new proposals in coal power capacity despite leading the global investment in energy transition solutions and technologies.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China, the largest market, made up $800 billion of all $2.3 trillion energy transition investments in 2025, a BloombergNEF report showed last month.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Moreover, \u201cChina continues to account for a clear majority of global supply chain investment, and BNEF expects this situation to continue for at least the next three years,\u201d the report said.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->China isn\u2019t ditching one source for another; it uses its domestic manufacturing chain to expand renewables while still relying on coal for baseload capacity and stable grids.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START --><strong>More Top Reads From Oilprice.com<\/strong><!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Oilprice Intelligence brings you the signals before they become front-page news. This is the same expert analysis read by veteran traders and political advisors. Get it free, twice a week, and you&#8217;ll always know why the market is moving before everyone else.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->You get the geopolitical intelligence, the hidden inventory data, and the market whispers that move billions &#8211; and we&#8217;ll send you $389 in premium energy intelligence, on us, just for subscribing. Join 400,000+ readers today. Get access immediately by clicking here.<!-- HTML_TAG_END --><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the first time ever, China now has more operating power capacity from clean energy sources than capacity running on fossil fuels, thanks to a decade of booming solar and wind installations. China, the undisputed global leader in clean energy investment, has 52% of operating power capacity coming from non-fossil fuel sources as of February [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[677,3345,3400,3398,3399,3401],"class_list":["post-30257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-china","tag-clean-energy","tag-coal-power","tag-global-energy","tag-installed-capacity","tag-power-capacity"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/a6a526186a740d9121725155e5808630.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}