Coal use for power generation in China

Coal holds dominant position in China's primary energy mix, and roughly 45% of China's coal consumption is used for power generation. In this paper, we study the prospective of coal used for power generation in China into 2030 by testing three interrelated factors, namely electricity demand, fuel mix and generation efficiency of coal power. We find that, under the 'new economic normal', electricity demand growth would slow down; under the effort of low-carbon transition, coal power is expected to reach the peak at around 970 GW by 2020; and coal used for power generation will reach the peak at around 1280 million ton coal equivalent (Mtce) under the clean coal power plan declared by the Chinese government. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.