Report reveals “extraordinary” growth of coal-power approvals in China

China approved 106GW of coal-fired power stations last year, the biggest increase since 2015, a report finds.China approved 106GW of coal-fired power stations last year, the biggest increase since 2015, a report finds.The report’s authors, Finland’s Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and San Francisco-based Global Energy Monitor (GEM), say the number equates to two new coal power plants approved every week in 2022.

The plants will be spread across 82 sites and will involve building 168 units – four times the capacity approved in 2021 and six times greater than new coal starts in the rest of the world.

“The speed at which projects progressed through permitting to construction in 2022 was extraordinary, with many projects sprouting up, gaining permits, obtaining financing and breaking ground apparently in a matter of months,” said Flora Champenois, an analyst at GEM.

“This kind of a process leaves little room for proper planning or consideration of alternatives,” she added.