Chinas Kohlestromerzeugung geht zum ersten Mal seit 2015 zurück

China’s coal-fired power generation decreased 1.9% in 2025, marking a historic shift driven by new non-fossil generation that has finally outpaced demand growth, according to a recent report from Wood Mackenzie.

Power demand grew 5% in China in 2025, or 494 TWh, yet for the first time in a decade, coal-fired power generation did not increase to help meet this demand. Instead, the incremental demand was met by carbon-free generation, with the rapid growth in renewables and constant development of nuclear and hydro capacity.

Beyond renewables, China has seen nuclear capacity expand from 27 GW in 2015 to 62 GW today, which, combined with hydro now provides 445 GW. Also notable is China’s massive investment in power transmission infrastructure. The country has deployed 340 GW of inter-regional power transmission corridors, connecting remote renewable resources in the west and north to population and industrial centres in the east and south, which is critical to unlocking renewable potential that would otherwise be stranded in sparsely populated western China and bringing it to central and coastal load centres.