Happy Holidays.
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.