From Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

“… The government’s response [to energy shortages] was to signal that it wanted more coal plants …”

Why China is building so many coal plants despite its solar and wind boom

China has significantly increased its coal power capacity, reviving concerns about its climate-changing carbon emissions

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press
February 3, 2026, 5:42 PM

Overall, China brought 78 gigawatts of new coal power capacity online, a sharp uptick from previous years, …

China added 315 gigawatts of solar capacity and 119 gigawatts of wind in 2025 …

The massive growth in wind and solar begs the question: Why is China still building coal power plants and, by most analyses, way more than it actually needs? 

The answer is complicated.

China is at an earlier development stage than the United States or Europe, so it needs more energy to keep growing. If more of the nation’s 1.4 billion people climb into the middle class, more will be able to afford air conditioners and washing machines.

Power shortages in parts of China in 2021 and 2022 reinforced longstanding concerns about energy security. Some factories temporarily halted production and one city imposed rolling blackouts.

The government’s response was to signal that it wanted more coal plants, leading to a surge in applications and permits for their construction.

…Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-building-coal-plants-despite-solar-wind-boom-129805102

I’m so confused. I thought renewables were cheaper than coal. And China is the king of building cheap batteries. So why would China need 78 gigawatts of coal to back up 315 + 119 = 434GW of renewables?

Could it be that renewables + backup is not a viable solution to a nation’s energy needs, even when the people implementing that solution are the global leaders of manufacturing green energy components?

Of course, Western apologists and Chinese propagandists insist that China has special needs, that the coal is just temporary. If China abandons renewables all green hope is lost, so they’ll tie themselves in knots trying to excuse China’s skyrocketing carbon emissions.

But nobody builds a new coal plant which they intent to shut down in the near future, those coal plants will still be humming long after all of China’s wind turbines and solar panels are dust.