China has turned a corner on fossil fuels, and investors are rushing in
by Mike Consol
China’s electricity demand jumped 5 percent in 2025 — an extra 494 terawatt hours — but for the first time in a decade, coal didn’t rise to meet it. Instead, carbon-free power filled the gap, fueled by surging renewables and steady gains in nuclear and hydro. “At the heart of this transformation is the unprecedented expansion of renewable energy capacity,” says Sharon Feng, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. Over the past decade, China’s ...
