In the first quarter of 2022, Chinese regulators gave the green light to coal plants with a total capacity of 8.63 gigawatts. That is nearly half of the entire coal-fired capacity approved last year.
China relies on coal for around 60% of its electricity, and has asked domestic miners to increase capacity by 300 million tons this year.
The State Council, China’s cabinet, in May announced 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) of investment in coal power generation.