The National Energy Administration (NEA) said China had shut down many small and dirty coal- and oil-burning power plants nearly two years ahead of schedule, the Wall Street Journal reported. The NEA said 54 gigwatts of coal- and oil-fired plants had been shut since 2007, approximately 7% of China’s current generating capacity. The shutting down of small power plants has been targeted as a key point in China’s energy and environmental strategy; typically, small plants are less efficient than large ones. Since 2007, China’s overall generating capacity has increased by about 20%. The country has added an average of 70 gigawatts of generating capacity, approximately equal to the total power-generating capacity of France, each year for the past several years.
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