China’s coal power lock-in: green growing pains

SINGAPORE – China is building record amounts of solar and wind power capacity, but a report released on Aug 6 shows just how much of this is sitting idle due to bottlenecks and policies propping up coal use. According to research by independent non-profits, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM), an estimated 360 terawatt-hours of solar and wind power went untapped between January and June 2026. That is enough to power Mexico or the United Kingdom for an entire year, based on 2025 consumption data. This waste is due to “curtailment”,…