China generates less than half of its electricity from coal for the first time

For the first time, China, the world's largest coal consumer, relied on coal for less than half of its electricity generation during the first six months of the year. This milestone reflects the nation's accelerating promotion of renewable energy sources.

Coal's contribution to the power mix fell to 49.7%, while renewable energy's share climbed to a record 41.2%. Wind and solar power alone accounted for 24.6% of the total. Natural gas and nuclear power make up the remaining portion of China's energy supply.

Despite this significant reduction in coal's share, analysts caution that China's overall coal consumption might still rise by 2026. This projection is driven by rapidly increasing national power demand, fueled by the growing adoption of electric vehicles, the expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence, and continued export growth.

China has set a target for coal consumption to peak no later than 2030. The country aims to boost wind and solar power to 30% of its energy mix by the same year. Greenpeace East Asia suggests this goal could be achieved as early as 2028, particularly with increased deployment of rooftop solar and battery storage systems.

Compared to other major economies, China's coal dependence remains higher than the US, where coal comprised only 17% of utility-scale power generation in 2025, with natural gas dominating at 41%. However, China's reliance on coal is lower than India's, where coal and lignite constituted 69% of power generation last year.

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Storage, together with demand response and more flexible electricity markets, will enable much higher penetration of distributed solar and help meet growing electricity demand with renewable energy rather than fossil fuels.