Hurricane-prone states The day in pictures Get the USA TODAY app Start the day smarter ☀️ U.S. Elections Sports Entertainment Life Money Tech Travel Opinion ONLY AT USA TODAY: Newsletters For Subscribers From the Archives Crossword eNewspaper Magazines Investigations Podcasts Video Humankind Just Curious Best-selling Booklist 24/7 Live Stream Legals OUR PORTFOLIO: 10Best USAT Wine Club Online Sports Betting Online Casino Reviewed Homefront Blueprint Southern Kitchen Best Auto Insurance Best Pet Insurance Best Travel Insurance Best Credit Cards Best CD Rates Best Personal Loans Home Internet FACT CHECK Power and Utility Facilities Add Topic # Fact check: China leads the world in coal plant expansion, but post overstates tally Isabella Fertel USA TODAY ![\\"\\"](\\"/gcdn/presto/2022/08/16/USAT/f09a5182-66f9-40b5-8237-5bb9c6a5c222-5204cb03-51b2-4905-ac79-98a5612335a0_thumbnail.png?crop=711,400,x99,y80&width=660&height=371&format=pjpg&auto=webp\\"/) PlayPause Sound OnSound Off 0:00 1:30 AD SKIP ClosedCaptionOpen ShareEnter Full ScreenExit Full Screen ## The claim: China built 648 new coal power plants As world leaders conclude a landmark climate change summit, misinformation about greenhouse gas emissions is spreading on social media. \"Green Energy fun fact: China has built more than 648 new Coal fired electricity plants,\" reads an Oct. 27 Facebook post. The post was shared more than 400 times in ten days. But the claim is false. China is one of the global leaders in developing and using coal power plants. However, this post misstates findings from a recent study, which detailed plants funded by Chinese investors but located in other countries. The 648 tally also included power plants using a variety of fuels – only a small portion use coal. China has not built 648 power plants in any recent timespan. Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks ## Post misstates findings of recent study on overseas Chinese power capacity The social media user confirmed that a recent report from Boston University was part of the basis for the post. The report, called \"Understanding China’s Global Power: 2022 Update,\" found that Chinese banks and companies financed a total of 648 power plants overseas. But the claim doesn’t accurately reflect what the research found, according to Cecilia Springer, one of the report\'s authors. \"If this post is indeed drawing from our database, it is a completely incorrect characterization of our data,\" Springer told USA TODAY in an email. \"Not all power plants in our database are coal plants. We track other energy technologies, including wind, solar, hydropower.\" According to Springer, only 10% of the power-generating plants within the Boston University database are coal-powered. And not all of the power plants mentioned in the report can be considered \"new\" or functional, Springer said. \"The 648 power plants tracked by our database are from all time, and entered into operation between 2000 and 2022,\" Springer said. \"We also track plants that are under construction or planning.\" Ninety-six overseas coal plants financed by China have gone online in the last five years, and 344 total since 2010, said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead researcher at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. ## China a world leader in using coal power Though this post errs on the specifics, China leads the world in use of coal for electricity generation, experts say. More than half of the capacity of newly commissioned coal-fired power plants installed around the world in 2021 came from China, according to Flora Champenois, a research analyst at Global Energy Monitor. The post does not indicate the time frame it is referencing, or if it is referencing plants built domestically or overseas. But the numbers don\'t add up in any case. \"In 2021, China commissioned... 34 coal power plants, making up more than half of global coal capacity additions that year,\" Champenois told USA TODAY in an email. \"In the first half of 2022, China commissioned... 11 coal power plants.\" Champenois said that over the past five years, China has commissioned 226 coal power plants within its own borders. \"The country continues to be the glaring exception to the ongoing global decline in coal plant development,\" Champenois said. Last year, Chinese President Xi Jingping announced that China would quit building and financing overseas coal power plants. Fact Check: Coal, natural gas, nuclear power, renewables all play role in keeping power grid stable ## Our rating: False Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that China built 648 new coal power plants. The 648 figure comes from a study that looked only at plants funded by China but built outside its borders. And most of the plants in that figure use fuels other than coal. The post is unclear on the timeframe referenced and whether it counts overseas plants funded by China or just domestic plants, but the numbers don\'t add up this high in any case. China commissioned 226 domestic plants in the last five years, and in that span 96 overseas plants financed by China went online. ## Our fact-check sources: * Baker Institute, accessed Nov. 7, Baker Institute China Energy Map * Baker Institute, accessed Nov. 7, Open-Source Mapping of China\'s Energy Infrastructure * Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Oct. 19, Understanding China’s Global Power: 2022 Update * Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Dec. 20, 2021, Turning Words into Action: A Post-COP26 View of China’s Commitment to Quit Coal Overseas * Carbon Brief, May 2022, China Briefing, 5 May 2022: ‘Gigantic’ wind and solar bases; Coal capacity ‘surge’; Loans for ‘clean’ coal * Cecilia Springer, Nov. 7, Email exchange with USA TODAY * Center for Security and Emerging Technology, accessed Nov. 21, 14th Five-Year Plan * China’s National Development and Reform Commission, accessed Nov. 7, 14th Five-Year Plan Modern Energy System Planning * Flora Champenois, Nov. 7, Email exchange with USA TODAY * Lauri Myllyvirta, Nov. 7, Email exchange with USA TODAY * Wilson Center, June 28, Chinese Coal-based Power Plants * USA TODAY, Nov. 6, Global diplomats are talking about climate change — again. Does it do any good? Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. 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China built 648 new coal power plant