China's coal-based power generation snapped its downward trend in share of the total generation last year, bouncing back to 2019 level, mainly thanks to substantial drops of thermal coal prices in the year.

 

In 2019-22, thermal power in China respectively accounted for a share of 70%, 69%, 68% and 67%. The share climbed to 70% last year, with output of thermal power totaling 6,231.8 TWh versus overall electricity generation of 8,909.1 TWh.

 

Combined thermal power generation of enterprises owned by central government fit the national trend also. Coal-fired power capacity generated a total of 5,350 TWh of electricity at these enterprises, contributing to 63% of the country's annual power generation with only 52% installed capacity, comparing to 63%, 60.8%, 60% and 58.4% from 2019 to 2022.

 

It's clear to see that the rebound in coal-fired power output is directly related to the increase in installed capacity and utilization hours.

 

Coal prices significantly increased in 2021-22, resulting in power rationing in some regions and highlighting the mainstay role of coal-based electricity.

 

Although the installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power has grown substantially, the controllability is low and contribution to the increase in power generation is limited.

 

Therefore, China changed its one-size-fits-all approach of completely rejecting new coal-fired power projects, and increased approvals for coal-based electricity projects.

 

China's newly-approved coal-fired power capacity in 2022 quadrupled that of 2021, reaching over 106 GW, showed data from the Global Energy Monitor.

 

In 2023, this trend is more dominant. In the first half of 2023, China approved 50.4 GW of coal-fired power capacity, equivalent to 55.56% of the total in 2022 and far exceeding the overall level in 2021, showed data from the non-government organization Greenpeace.

 

The combined capacity of thermal power increased 3.4% on the year to 1.16 TW as of end-2023, taking 39.9% of the nation's total installed capacity, showed data from the China Electricity Council (CEC).

 

In 2023, hydropower generation in China declined 5.6%. Low reservoir levels and less-than-normal rainfalls plummeted output by 22.9% in the first half of the year, although there was a rise in August-December.

 

In this case, other energy sources, especially relatively stable ones such as coal-fired power and nuclear power, registered year-on-year growths of 6.1% and 3.7%, respectively, in 2023.

 

CEC noted coal-fired power generation accounted for nearly 60% of the total power generation in 2023, highlighting its important role in stabilizing energy supply across the nation.

 

In 2023, the utilization hours of power generation capacity in power plants with a capacity of 6,000 KW and above were 3,592 hours, down 101 hours year on year, vis-à-vis hydropower capacity's 3,133 hours, down 285 hours year on year, and 4,466 hours for thermal power capacity, up 76 hours.