Coal in China

China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world and is the largest user of coal-derived electricity, generating an estimated 90% of domestic electricity production in 2014 from coal.

Coal production and consumption fell in 2014 and 2015. As a share of the source of electricity generation, coal is projected to decline steadily, falling to 45% in 2040.

At the beginning of 2016 China was said to be building or planning 144 new coal-fired power stations, and building more coal-burning capacity each year than the whole capacity of Britain. But in April the National Energy Administration (NEA) issued a directive curbing construction of new coal fired plants in many parts of the country. This was followed up in January 2017 when the NEA canceled a further 103 coal power plants, eliminating 120 gigawatts of future coal-fired capacity, despite the resistance of local authorities mindful of the need to create jobs. In July 2016 the commission in charge of state-owned enterprises, SASAC, ordered companies under its supervision to cut coal mining capacity by 10% in 2 years and by 15% in 5 years.

The decreasing rate of construction is due to the realization that too many power plants had been built and some existing plants were being used far below capacity. Nevertheless, in the first two months of 2016 China had added 22 GW of capacity, 14 GW of which was coal, according to the China Electricity Council.

In April 2017 coal-powered electricity production hit a new record high.

As of the end of 2014, China had 62 billion tons of anthracite and 52 billion tons of lignite quality coal. China ranks third in the world in terms of total coal reserves behind the United States and Russia. Most coal reserves are located in the north and north-west of the country, which poses a large logistical problem for supplying electricity to the more heavily populated coastal areas. At current levels of production, China has 30 years worth of reserves. However, others suggest that China has enough coal to sustain its economic growth for a century or more.

China is the largest coal producer in the world, but as of 2015 falling coal prices resulted in layoffs at coal mines in the northeast.

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Wikipedia