China’s energy transition sees ‘staggering’ progress on renewables — and a coal power boom
China is recognized as the undisputable global leader in renewable energy expansion.
Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images
China is making rapid progress in scaling up clean energy, tentatively boosting hopes that the world’s largest carbon emitter could soon start to curb greenhouse gas pollution.
A massive wave of permits for new coal-fired capacity poses a significant challenge to the country’s climate goals, with Beijing seen as “the glaring exception to the ongoing global decline in coal plant development,” according to the Global Energy Monitor.
Research from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air and GEM published late last month showed China approved the highest number of new coal-fired plants since 2015 last year.
Beijing authorized 106 gigawatts of new coal power capacity in 2022, four times higher than a year earlier and the equivalent of 100 large-fired power plants, the research said.
The extraordinary speed at which China approved the projects was thought to have been driven by energy security considerations, namely electricity shortages following a historic drought and heatwave last summer.
The major additions of new coal-fired capacity may not necessarily mean that carbon emissions from the power sector will increase in China, CREA and GEM analysts said, particularly given the country’s rapid progress in scaling up clean energy.
China was found to have permitted 106 gigawatts of new coal power capacity in 2022, four times higher than a year earlier and the equivalent of 100 large-fired power plants.
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images
China is recognized as the undisputable global leader in renewable energy expansion, adding new projects to the grid almost as fast as the rest of the world combined in 2022.
The build-out comes as part of the government’s strategy to cut its energy intensity and reach peak emissions “in a well-planned and phased way.”
“When we look around the world today, we can firmly see that the energy transition is in progress,” said Mike Hemsley, deputy director at the Energy Transitions Commission think tank.
“China is building renewables at such a staggering rate [that] it is said to outperform the targets they have set themselves,” Hemsley said at International Energy Week in London last week. He added that around 50% of all renewables built every year were built in China.
“To put that into context, we’ve heard the really admirable goal of Masdar to build 100 gigawatts of renewables by 2030 [but] China every year is building around 75 gigawatts of wind and in excess 100 gigawatts of solar every year,” Hemsley said. Masdar is the UAE’s state-owned renewables developer.
On its current trajectory, Hemsley said that Beijing is on track to reach 1,800 gigawatts of total renewables by 2030. That would be 50% higher than Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s target of 1,200 gigawatts of total renewables by the end of the decade.
“The implications of that being [that] they will outperform their Nationally Determined Contribution, and they are likely to peak emissions way before 2030, some say around 2025 [or] 2026,” Hemsley said, describing this as “really positive news.”
‘A hot, still summer evening is the worry’
The International Energy Agency said earlier this month that, while still rising, global carbon emissions may at least be reaching a plateau.
Energy-related carbon emissions added less than 1% in 2022 to a new high of more than 36.8 billion tons. The increase was less than expected, as renewables helped limit the impact of a global rise in coal and oil consumption. Comparatively, global emissions from energy gained by 6% in 2021.
China’s emissions, the IEA said, were broadly flat in 2022, as Covid-19 measures and declining construction activity led to weaker economic growth.
“Getting China’s emissions to peak has an indispensable role in peaking and declining global emissions — and the success of the overall global effort,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at CREA.
In 2020, China’s Xi announced plans for the world’s second-largest economy to strive for peak carbon emissions in 2030 and for carbon neutrality by 2060.
Myllyvirta told CNBC via telephone that, depending on one’s perspective, China’s climate targets could either be seen as flexible or as lacking in ambition, noting it is important to keep in mind that they allow for a “huge range of outcomes.”
“The grid planners believe that there are going to be some hours or days or weeks during the summer [when] they are going to need more coal-fired power plants,” Myllyvirta said.
China’s power system remains dependent on coal, the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel, to meet electricity peak loads and to manage the variability of demand and of clean power supply.
Burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas, is the chief driver of the climate crisis.
“A hot, still summer evening is the worry. Where are [they] going to get enough power to keep the lights on? That’s why they think they need more coal-fired power plants, because that’s traditionally the way they’ve met the demand in that situation,” Myllyvirta said.
If China is going to meet its climate commitments — as CREA expects — then the think tank says that the country’s new coal power plants will “end up as short-lived and under-utilized malinvestments.”
As electric bikes and e-scooters continue to surge in popularity, and as the growing ridership skews towards younger operators with growing questions about safety and road rules, motorcycle training courses might be an unexpected ally. In Las Vegas, motorcycle safety instructors are expanding their classrooms to include e-bike and e-scooter riders, responding to a growing number of traffic incidents involving younger riders and micromobility vehicles.
The new program, led by instructors at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and supported by a grant from the Nevada Department of Public Safety, is designed to give e-bike and e-scooter riders formal safety training similar to what motorcycle riders have long had access to. The move comes as local officials report more than 200 traffic collisions involving juveniles during school hours this year alone, many occurring near school zones.
Unlike traditional motorcycle training, these new courses are tailored specifically to the realities of electric micromobility, reports local CBS affiliate KLAS. That includes understanding e-bike classifications, where different types of electric bikes are legally allowed to operate, lithium-ion battery safety, and practical crash-avoidance strategies for riding in mixed traffic. The goal isn’t to discourage riding, but rather to help riders better understand risk management before something goes wrong.
And to sweeten the deal even further, the class is actually free. Riders won’t need to pay tuition, purchase special equipment, or already own an e-bike to participate. The only real barrier is showing up. For many families, that removes one of the biggest hurdles to formal safety education, especially at a time when e-bikes are increasingly being used by teenagers for commuting to school, after-school jobs, and social activities.
The structure of the course also reflects how younger riders actually learn. Participants begin with an online, self-paced portion that covers the basics, followed by an in-person session focused on real-world riding scenarios. That hybrid approach mirrors what’s already common in motorcycle safety programs, but adapted for vehicles that are quieter, lighter, and often ridden without licensing requirements.
More of these e-bike training programs aimed at younger riders are popping up around the US. This kind of training could play an important role as e-bikes continue to blur the lines between bicycles, scooters, and mopeds. Many new riders jump on an e-bike with little understanding of stopping distances, speed differentials, or how drivers perceive them in traffic. Others may not realize that different e-bike classes come with different rules about bike lanes, paths, and road use. Formal instruction helps fill those gaps in a way that YouTube videos and warning labels often don’t.
There’s also a broader implication here for cities across the US. As e-bike adoption grows faster than infrastructure and regulation can keep up, education becomes one of the most effective tools available. Teaching riders how to safely interact with cars, pedestrians, and traditional cyclists may reduce crashes without resorting to heavy-handed restrictions or outright bans that often follow high-profile incidents.
For new riders especially, programs like this can make the difference between e-bikes feeling intimidating or empowering. Instead of learning through trial and error – or worse, through an accident – riders get guidance from instructors who already understand traffic dynamics and safety principles of two-wheeled vehicles.
The CSN e-bike and e-scooter safety courses are scheduled to begin in January, and if successful, they could perhaps serve as a model for similar programs elsewhere. As electric bikes continue to move from novelty to normal transportation, efforts like this suggest that the future of micromobility safety may look less like enforcement and more like education.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Ford is jumping into the battery energy storage business, betting that booming demand from data centers and the electric grid can absorb the EV battery capacity it says it’s not using.
To achieve this, Ford plans to repurpose its existing EV battery manufacturing capacity in Glendale, Kentucky, into a dedicated hub for manufacturing battery energy storage systems.
Ford pivots from EVs to battery storage for data centers
Ford says it will invest about $2 billion over the next two years to scale the new business. The Kentucky site will be converted to build advanced battery energy storage systems larger than 5 megawatt-hours, including LFP prismatic cells, BESS modules, and 20-foot DC container systems — the kind of hardware increasingly used by data centers, utilities, and large-scale industrial companies.
The company plans to bring initial production online within 18 months, leaning on its manufacturing experience and licensed battery technology. By late 2027, Ford expects the business to deploy at least 20 gigawatt-hours of energy storage annually.
The move follows a joint venture disposition agreement reached last week between Ford, SK On, SK Battery America, and BlueOval SK. Under the agreement, a Ford subsidiary will independently own and operate the Kentucky battery plants, while SK On will fully own and operate the Tennessee battery plant.
Ford is also planning a separate energy storage play in Michigan. At BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall, the company will produce smaller amp-hour LFP prismatic cells for residential energy storage systems. That plant is on track to begin manufacturing in 2026, and it will also supply batteries for Ford’s upcoming midsize electric truck — the first model built on the company’s new Universal EV Platform.
Electrek’s Take
Overall, the shift reflects Ford’s broader push toward what it calls “higher-return opportunities.” Alongside taking a step backward to add more gas-powered trucks and vans to its US manufacturing footprint, Ford says it will no longer produce some larger EVs, such as the Lightning F-150, where softer demand and higher costs are resulting from the lack of support for EVs by the Trump administration. (Batteries produced at the Glendale plant were for the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning. The best-selling electric truck in the US in Q3, before the federal tax credit expired, was the Ford F-150 Lightning, with 10,005 EVs sold, a 39.7% year-over-year increase.)
With tax credits eliminated and regulatory uncertainty, Ford is pivoting to adjacent markets, including grid-scale and residential energy storage, to keep its battery plants running and justify billions in sunk investment.
If you’re looking to replace your old HVAC equipment, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you’re finding a trusted, reliable HVAC installer near you that offers competitive pricing on heat pumps, check out EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it easy for you to get a heat pump. They have pre-vetted heat pump installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions. Plus, it’s free to use!
Your personalized heat pump quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – *ad
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024