Coal repowering in China: Beyond technology-centric perspective

Abstract

Prompted by the urgent need for a timely and orderly transition away from coal power, this paper critically examines the prospects for repowering coal-fired power plants with nuclear energy in China. While existing studies often adopt a technology-centric perspective that highlights the techno-economic potential and broader benefits of this transition pathway, this paper challenges that view by demonstrating the substantial challenges repowering faces within the broader coal-electricity regime. The analysis emphasises the importance of understanding policy, market, and governance dimensions as essential prerequisites for assessing the feasibility of coal repowering. This involves evaluating external policy pressures that compel coal power providers to adapt, as well as internal dynamics that shape their perceptions of the risks and opportunities associated with various transformation pathways. In the context of China, the viability of repowering with nuclear energy is constrained by coal generators’ limited expertise in nuclear technology and their entrenched ties to other coal-sector stakeholders, including coal mining, transportation, and coal chemicals. These factors tend to direct their focus towards solutions such as carbon capture and storage, which align more closely with their existing capabilities and sustain critical elements of the coal-electricity ecosystem.