An electronics factory in Zhuhai, China. Chris from Shenzhen, China via Wikipedia
By several measures, Chinese industry is becoming less dependent on fossil fuels, according to a new analysis.
New clean power more than met the growth in demand across China last year, leading to a small decline in coal output, according to think tank Ember. Analysts identified eight provinces where coal generation is now seeing declines, including industrial centers such as Hunan and Shandong, and it named another nine provinces where the growth of coal generation has slowed substantially.
On top of declines in coal power, factories are moving away from using fossil fuels for industrial processes. Textile plants may use gas boilers to generate heat for dyeing fabrics, for instance, while food producers may use gas ovens for cooking. But increasingly such processes are being electrified.
In eight of 11 industrial sectors — including textiles, food, pharmaceuticals, and machinery — fossil fuel use has already peaked, the analysis found. The declines come even as China’s industrial output continues to grow.
“The clean electricity system is gaining both strength and scope, and the fossil fuel system is already registering the shift,” said Muyi Yang, a senior analyst at Ember. “You can see fossil fuel use flattening out, sector by sector and province by province.”
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