how many coal plants China built total

China built about 78 GW of new coal power capacity in 2025 , which is a better “total built” figure than counting individual plants because plant sizes vary widely. That same report says more than 50 large coal units were commissioned in 2025, and China still had 291 GW of coal capacity in the pipeline by the end of 2025.

What that means

• If you mean capacity built , the latest cited figure is 78 GW in 2025.

• If you mean number of plants , public reporting is less consistent because sources often count units or capacity , not whole plant sites.

• The broader trend is that China is still adding coal even while renewables are growing fast.

Quick note

If you want, I can turn that into:

• total GW built over a longer period ,
• an estimate of how many individual plants that roughly equals, or
• a timeline of China’s coal buildout.