China has ~1,271 GW of operating coal power capacity, over half of the world’s total. 2,621 coal-fired power units are currently active, with over 1,000 more retired or mothballed. The average age of China’s coal fleet is just 12-14 years, compared to an average age of 45 years in the US. 73% of all Chinese coal units are serving heat and operate as combined heat and power (CHP) power plants. Replacing these means finding a clean alternative for both electricity and heat generation.
China intends to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, but decommissioning these young coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) early in their technical lifetimes creates stranded assets. Repowering offers a different pathway ahead, where valuable coal infrastructure continues to have a use in the clean transition.
A recent study published in ‘Southern Energy Construction’ by the China Power Engineering Consulting Group (CPECC – a subsidiary of CEEC) states that:
“Coal-to-Nuclear can directly achieve capacity substitution, reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, and significantly reduce the construction cost of nuclear power”
CPECC’s feasibility analysis states that replacing one standard 660MW subcritical Chinese CFPP with high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor units could reduce coal consumption by around 2.54 million tons per year.
That equates to avoiding more than 6 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually, which is equivalent to removing approximately 1.4 million cars from the road for a year. One repowered plant could serve carbon-free electricity to a city of 3.5 million households in China (assuming the average electricity consumption in China of about 1,500 kWh per year/household). Replacing coal also removes harmful particulate emissions such as sulphur dioxide (primary cause of acid rain and respiratory issues) and nitrogen dioxide (contributor to smog).
In collaboration with in-country academic, policy and industry experts in Xiamen University, Tsinghua University, and the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS), Repower organises multi-disciplinary conferences, and funds and promotes China-related academic research into implementation strategy of coal repowering, with numerous research findings published in Chinese and English academic journal papers.
A Repower summit was held in China in 2024, which was co-sponsored by CPECC. The Repower team hosted a workshop in Beijing with the British embassy at the end of last year, which assembled representatives from CEEC, Huaneng Power, CHN Energy, HSBC China and the DRC State Council, to discuss technological solutions, policy incentives and the economic viability of repurposing coal plants.
In 2026, Repower are dedicating our focus to China, and for coal repowering to be a serious part of academic, industrial and policy discussions.
Stay tuned for further updates on our next Repower World Summit 2026 – in Beijing!
Sources:
https://energyinnovation.org/expert-voice/what-is-coals-future-in-the-united-states/
https://www.energychina.press/en/article/doi/10.16516/j.ceec.2024-185