A new report from Reuters in Beijing indicates that China’s coal output in August rose 2.8% compared with the same period in 2023.

The report quotes data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealing that the 396.55 million metric tons mined during the month also exceed the 390.37 million tons mined in July.

Reasons cited for the increase include robust demand from the chemical industry and higher levels of power generation. July was the hottest month on record for China, and the heat waves continued into August, driving up power demand as homes and businesses turned on their air conditioning.

Thermal power generation, which is mostly from coal in China, rose 3.7% from a year ago to 614.9 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). While this reversed a trend of decreasing thermal power production for three months, the gain in thermal generation was less than the 5.8% rise in total electricity output to 907.4 billion kWh, reflecting the strong increase in clean energy production.

Output from hydropower rose 10.7% compared with the same month in 2023, reaching 163.5 billion kWh. However, in July, hydropower production had increased 36.2% compared to a year earlier, reaching 166.4 billion kWh.

See also China dials down coal output to focus on structural reform, article published in the I July 2024 issue of Combustion Industry News.