China scraps construction of 85 planned coal power plants

(The Independent, 17 Jan 2017) Move comes as Chinese government says it will invest 2.5 trillion yuan (£300 billion) into the renewable energy sector.

China has suspended 85 planned coal power plants in a bid to meet a government coal capacity target laid out in its latest plan for social and economic development.

The National Energy Administration (NEA) announced the under-construction projects would no longer go ahead as part of measures outlined in its Five Year Plan, Greenpeace reports.

In the report's electricity chapter, Beijing committed to a coal capacity cap of 1,100GW, however the new builds would have taken that figure to 1250GW, breaching the Government-set limit.

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The Independent, 17 Jan 2017: China scraps construction of 85 planned coal power plants