Historic Turning Point in China's Energy Sector: Coal Share Drops Below 50 Percent

An important historic milestone has been recorded in China's energy sector. According to the country's National Energy Administration, in the first half of the current year, the share of coal generation (electricity production) dropped below 50 percent for the first time, amounting to 49.7 percent. This shift is assessed as a drastic turning point in China's transition—one of the world's largest economies—toward an eco-friendly and sustainable energy model. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .

During the reporting period, China's coal-fired power plants generated approximately 2.5 trillion kWh of electricity. For comparison, just a few years ago, coal fuel was considered the absolute foundation of China's energy system. The decline of this indicator shows that the country's policy to reduce carbon emissions and gradually cut dependence on traditional fossil fuels is yielding results.

Rapid growth of renewable energy sources

Against the backdrop of the shrinking share of coal, green energy indicators are growing at a rapid pace. According to reports, in the first half of the year, the volume of electricity obtained from renewable sources approached 2 trillion kWh, and its share in the overall balance reached a record 41.2 percent. This confirms that the transition to eco-friendly energy using modern technologies is not only a plan, but a practical result.

In particular, solar and wind power plants alone generated more than 1.25 trillion kWh of electricity. This indicator provided nearly a quarter of the total consumption in the country. Experts note that more than 60 percent of the growth in new demand for electricity was covered precisely by such eco-friendly sources.

Global leadership and changing capacity balance

China maintains undisputed global leadership not only in production volume, but also in installed capacity. As of May of this year, the total installed capacity of power plants in the country exceeded 4.01 billion kWh. It is noteworthy that this gigantic figure is even higher than the combined capacity of the USA, European Union countries, India, Japan, and Russia.

Long-term trends in the energy market also indicate profound structural changes. While in 2010 coal power plants accounted for 61 percent of the country's installed capacity, today this figure has dropped to 32 percent. At the same time, the share of non-fossil energy sources has significantly increased, reaching 62 percent.