ENERGY SECURITYĬoal remains the “ballast stone” for China’s energy security, according to the government-owned Xinhua news agency (“ Intelligent upgrading of coal enterprises”, May 16, 2023).Ĭhina’s resource endowment is rich in coal but poor in oil with little gas, according to Xinhua, ensuring coal continues to play an irreplaceable role in energy security.Įnsuring sufficient electricity generation to meet rapidly rising demand from industry and households is the more urgent priority in the short term while reducing emissions is a more long-term goal.Īs a result, the government has encouraged rapid growth in coal production to build up power plant inventories and reduce the threat of electricity shortages this summer and next winter.Ĭoal production increased by more than 80 million tonnes (almost +6%) in the first four months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.Ĭoal imports also increased by 67 million tonnes (almost +90%) to ensure adequate supplies for both generators and steelmakers. Renewables wind and solar provided 14% of generation up from just 3% in 2014, while nuclear supplied 5% up from 2%. Thermal generation, mostly from coal-fired units, has increased by 38% over the last nine years, while hydro is up by 31%.īut there have been even faster increases from wind farms (up by more than 580%) and solar (up by almost 400% in just five years).Īs a result, thermal generation’s share of the total fell to 71% in the first four months of 2023 down from 79% in the same period in 2014. Increases from thermal power plants (+83 billion kWh), wind farms (+64 billion kWh), solar farms (+16 billion kWh) and nuclear units (+6 billion kWh) more than offset reduced hydro-electric output (-42 billion kWh).Ĭhina’s burgeoning electricity consumption is so huge the government has no choice but to follow an “all of the above” strategy even as it tries to boost the share of generation from low-emission sources. Total electrical generation increased by 128 billion kilowatt-hours (4.9%) between January and April compared with the same period in 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - China’s electricity generation grew in line with the long-term average during the first four months of the year as the economy recovered from the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and the exit wave of the pandemic.
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