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New UserChina to leapfrog from coal to renewables without relying on LNG as bridge fuel: study
27 Jun 2024
- Wind and solar
have contributed more than LNG to reducing coal’s share in China’s
generation mix, report’s author Christopher Doleman says
China, the
world’s biggest importer of LNG, has been increasing purchases of the fuel, but
this has not reduced or slowed the use of coal, the report from the Institute
for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said. China’s coal demand
has increased more than LNG imports every year since 2017, the report added.
The share of
power generated from natural gas in China has remained static at 3 per cent
since 2015, while that of wind and solar power has quadrupled to 16 per cent in
the same period, according to the report. This has caused the relative market
share of coal in the power mix to fall from 70 per cent to 61 per cent during
the same period.
With China
leapfrogging to renewables without relying on LNG, LNG’s use as a transition
solution to achieving net-zero emissions is in doubt. Natural gas has long been
touted as a transition fuel for coal-reliant countries and industries on their
path to clean energy, as gas-fired power plants produce 50 to 60 per cent less
carbon emissions than coal-fired ones.
However, the
high and volatile prices of LNG, exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict,
have hindered the fuel’s outlook.
The average
cost of imported LNG is nearly three times that of domestically produced coal
and gas, data from Chinese customs shows. It is also between 37 and 61 per cent
more expensive than pipeline gas imports from Russia and other Asian countries.