Beijing [China], August 8: China wasted enough wind and solar power in the first half of this year to cover all new electricity demand, according to a report, as bottlenecks in grid absorption failed to stem a rebound in coal-fired generation.
Though solar is poised to overtake coal as China's largest source of installed power, an estimated 360 terawatt-hours of wind and solar electricity was curtailed in the first half - up 49 per cent year on year - according to a report released on Thursday by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and the US-based Global Energy Monitor (GEM).
The curtailed energy exceeded the 258 terawatt-hours of power demand growth during the period, the two non-profit organisations said, meaning all new electricity needs could have been met - and coal power generation reduced - if the clean energy had been absorbed into the grid.
Coal-fired power generation rebounded by 3.4 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026, reversing the 2025 decline.
"On a national energy basis, available clean electricity was therefore sufficient to push down coal power generation," the report said. "However, the figures show that the rebound in coal power generation reflected limits in grid integration, dispatch and power trading rather than a national shortage of clean electricity." Curtailment was concentrated in major power-exporting areas, including the Inner Mongolia autonomous region at the country's northern border, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in China's far west and the mountainous plateau of northwest China's Qinghai province.
Around 15 per cent to 30 per cent of wind and solar power in these areas was wasted in the year through June, compared with regions like Guangdong and Zhejiang with higher power demands, where curtailment rates were below 3 per cent.
This comes despite significant progress in China's green energy transition. Coal power accounted for less than 50 per cent of total electricity generation in the first half of the year for the first time on record, according to data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) released in late July, a key step forward for the world's largest carbon emitter as it works to reduce its historic reliance on coal and hit its 2030 carbon peak target. Meanwhile, installed solar capacity had reached 1.27 billion kilowatts by the end of June and was projected to surpass that of coal before the end of the year, the state-run People's Daily reported last week.
Yet coal power continues to crowd out renewables, Thursday's report also found.
In the first six months of the year, according to CREA and GEM, the number of new coal power plants entering operation in China reached its highest level since the same period in 2016.
Roughly 10 gigawatts (GW) of capacity came online for every gigawatt retired, the non-profit organisations said, despite a policy shift towards tighter control of new project approvals.
China commissioned 30GW of new coal power, up 43 per cent from last year, while retiring only 2.7GW.
"Coal capacity is still growing because of legacy approvals and policy protections, even as plants run fewer hours and large volumes of clean electricity go unused," said Qi Qin, an analyst at CREA and co-author of the report.
Christine Shearer, a research analyst at GEM and another co-author, pointed out that China's energy market was seeing "mixed signals".
"Policymakers are calling for tighter control of coal, yet record numbers of new coal plants continue to enter operation, supported by market mechanisms that guarantee coal both capacity payments and significant electricity sales," she said.
"Until these incentives are aligned, coal's transition from baseload generation to a flexible backup role will remain challenging."
Source: Qatar Tribune