China’s clean energy surge is starting to squeeze out coal

China's clean energy buildout has grown so large that it's now starting to push coal power into decline rather than just adding on top of it. A new report from the energy think tank Ember found that coal-fired electricity generation has stopped growing in 17 of 26 Chinese provinces studied, including major industrial areas. Overall, thermal power (mostly coal) fell 0.7% in 2025 even as electricity demand rose 5%, a sign that solar, wind, and other clean sources are now covering new demand and eating into coal's share at the same time. Battery storage is helping manage the grid too: batteries passed pumped hydro as China's largest form of storage in 2024 and grew another 84% in 2025.

The shift goes beyond power plants. Fossil fuel use has already peaked in most industrial sectors Ember tracks, and electric vehicles are replacing gasoline fast — electric cars were 67% of new car sales in June 2026, and electric trucks made up 26% of new truck sales last year. That's cut into China's oil imports, avoiding an estimated 1 million barrels a day in demand.

None of this changes anything about your own home or utility bills directly. But it matters for the bigger picture: China has driven most of the world's growth in coal and oil demand for 25 years, and it's also become a major exporter of the solar panels, batteries, and EVs now displacing fossil fuels elsewhere — including in the U.S. market for home solar and storage equipment.