China is reviving some dormant coal plants as it looks to further boost its energy independence, a move that threatens to roll back some of the country’s progress in greening its grid.
Though the world’s largest energy importer has largely withstood the worst of the global supply crunch sparked by the Iran war, the conflict has nonetheless exposed some vulnerabilities, leading Beijing to look at cheap domestic coal as an alternative to replace natural gas imports.
At the same time, the conflict is also likely to bolster demand for China’s world-leading green energy manufacturers as countries push to wean themselves off fossil fuel dependency, potentially alleviating a downward price spiral that recently pushed Beijing to curb solar overcapacity.
