China’s Fossil Fuel Power Output Set for First Drop in a Decade
(Bloomberg) -- China’s fossil fuel power plants are on track to chart their first annual drop in generation in a decade as renewables flood the grid to meet rising demand.
Thermal electricity output fell 4.2% in November, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. Generation from coal and gas-fired plants is down 0.7% this year, on track for the first annual decline since 2015 unless there’s a sharp jump in December.
China’s massive fleet of coal power stations is the world’s leading source of greenhouse gases fueling global warming. Even though the nation is continuing to build more of the plants, their use is plateauing as huge investments in renewables meet growing consumption needs.
Wind power jumped 22% in November from the previous year, while large solar farms saw a 23% rise in generation, additional data released Monday showed.
Even as power-sector emissions in China drop, they’ve been largely offset by rising pollution from a growing fleet of chemicals and plastics factories, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
The nation’s coal output fell on an annual basis for a fifth month, while oil and natural gas continued to rise toward annual production records.
On the Wire
CMOC Group, one of China’s biggest miners, expanded its push into precious metals with a $1 billion deal to buy the Brazilian operations of Equinox Gold Corp.
China’s retail sales grew at the weakest since the crash caused by Covid, while investment slumped further, underlining growing risks to the economy after several months of deterioration.
Chinese President Xi Jinping lashed out at inflated growth numbers and vowed to crack down on the pursuit of “reckless” projects that have no purpose except showing superficial results.
This Week’s Diary
(All times Beijing)
Monday, Dec. 15:
- China’s home prices for November, 9:30
- China’s industrial output for Nov., including steel & aluminum; coal, gas & power generation; and crude oil & refining, 10:00
- Data on retail sales, fixed assets investment, property investment, residential sales, jobless rate
Tuesday, Dec. 16:
- Nothing major scheduled
Wednesday, Dec. 17:
- China’s Nov. output data for base metals and oil products
- China solar association CPIA’s annual conference, Xi’an city, day 1
Thursday, Dec. 18:
- China’s 2nd batch of November trade data
- Grains, sugar, cotton, palm oil, pork & beef imports
- Oil-product imports & exports breakdown; LNG & pipeline gas imports
- Bauxite, steel and aluminum imports; rare-earth product, alumina and copper exports
- China solar association CPIA’s annual conference, Xi’an city, day 2,
Friday, Dec. 19:
- Mysteel’s annual steel market summit in Shanghai, day 1
- China weekly iron ore port stockpiles
- Shanghai exchange weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30
Saturday, Dec. 20:
- China’s 3rd batch of Nov. trade data, including country breakdowns for energy and commodities
- Mysteel’s annual steel market summit in Shanghai, day 2
Sunday, Dec 21:
- Mysteel’s annual steel market summit in Shanghai, day 3
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