China has brought 96% of its coal-fired power capacity into compliance with ultra-low emission standards, a senior environment official said, as the country pushes to cut the carbon intensity of its coal fleet while retaining it as a cornerstone of power security.

Tong Yanchao, a second-level inspector at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's Department of Atmospheric Environment, said at an event marking the 2026 International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies that China has built the world's largest clean coal power and steel production systems, according to a statement posted on September 7.

Ultra-low emission standards cap particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide concentrations from coal-fired units at no more than 10, 35 and 50 milligrams per cubic meter respectively — 50%, 30% and 50% below the special emission limits previously enforced in key regions, making them the world's strictest for thermal power. After desulfurization, denitrification and dust removal, flue gas from coal plants can reach cleanliness levels comparable to gas-fired plants, industry sources said.

The gains extend beyond pollutants. China Energy Investment Corp (CHN Energy) exceeded its coal power "three retrofits" targets during the 14th "Five-Year Plan" period, cutting coal consumption for power supply by 4.7 grams per kWh.

In June, the world's first 630-degree-Celsius class double-reheat ultra-supercritical 1 GW coal unit — Unit 1 of Datang's Yuncheng project in Shandong — entered commercial operation, with a designed power generation thermal efficiency of 50.05% and coal consumption for power supply of 256.28 grams per kWh, the first coal power project globally to break the 50% thermal efficiency threshold.

Coal power's role is also shifting. Coal-fired generation accounts for about 40% of China's total carbon emissions, making its decarbonization critical to economy-wide greenhouse gas reduction.

As renewables take a larger share, coal power is accelerating its transition from a baseload guarantee source to a supporting and regulating source, moving from high-load, stable baseload operation to low-load, flexible peak-shaving.

With less than 40% of installed capacity, coal power provides about 60% of electricity generation, 70% of peak capacity and nearly 80% of regulation capability — meaning its actual contribution and balancing value remain prominent even as its capacity share declines.

Renewables are reshaping the supply mix. Data from the National Energy Administration showed that as of end-June 2026, national renewable energy installed capacity reached 2.46 TW, or 60.7% of total power capacity, with solar capacity roughly level with coal-fired capacity.

By end-July 2026, national photovoltaic installed capacity reached 1.29 TW, surpassing coal power for the first time to become the largest power source by installed capacity.

State Grid has drafted 20 measures to support the 15th "Five-Year Plan" carbon peak target, proposing average annual new renewable capacity of about 200 GW in its service area during the period, while advancing low-carbon and flexibility retrofits of coal power and commercializing carbon-reduction and sequestration technologies such as green ammonia co-firing and CCUS.

Under the plan, China's low-carbon coal power technology roadmap will further mature and broaden by 2027, with retrofitted projects cutting carbon emissions per kWh by about 50% from comparable units in 2023, approaching the carbon emission level of natural gas-fired units.

Overall, China's power sector decarbonization path is not simply phasing out coal, but rather maintaining coal's role as a "ballast stone" for power security while advancing ultra-low emission retrofits, energy-saving and carbon-reduction upgrades and low-carbon technology demonstrations in parallel to gradually lower coal power's carbon intensity, while sharply raising the renewable capacity share to form a coordinated coal-renewables decarbonization framework.