Power mix by fuel (China)
Plant counts by primary fuel, WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
China electricity grid — mix & carbon intensity (2025)
Source: Ember / Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0).
The state of China’s power emissions
Across the 1,009 China power plants carrying an asset-level CO₂ figure in this open dataset, total emissions are about 4,010 Mt CO₂/yr. The single largest emitter, Togtoh power station (coal), accounts for about 1% of that 1,009-plant reported subset (not of the whole country). The top three owners — China Huaneng Group Corporation (CHNG), China Guodian Group Corporation, Huadian Power International Company Limited — control roughly 14% of that 1,009-plant reported subset. Most of these plants sit in a temperate Köppen climate zone.
Largest emitters (Mt CO₂/yr)
Emissions by owner (Mt CO₂/yr)
CO₂ — measured (US EPA / EU ETS) or modelled (Climate TRACE), per plant · backbone WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0) · climate: Köppen-Geiger (WorldClim). CC BY 4.0.
Largest plants in China
| # | Plant | Fuel | MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Three Gorges Dam | Hydro | 22,500 |
| 2 | Xiluodu | Hydro | 13,860 |
| 3 | Baihetan Dam | Hydro | 13,050 |
| 4 | Xiangjiaba | Hydro | 7,750 |
| 5 | East Hope Metals Wucaiwan power station | Coal | 7,000 |
| 6 | Datang Tuoketuo power station | Coal | 6,720 |
| 7 | Togtoh power station | Coal | 6,720 |
| 8 | Hongyanhe | Nuclear | 6,714 |
| 9 | Fuqing | Nuclear | 6,667 |
| 10 | Tianwan | Nuclear | 6,608 |
| 11 | Yangjiang | Nuclear | 6,516 |
| 12 | Ying Long Shan power station | Coal | 6,300 |
| 13 | Jiaxing power station | Coal | 6,030 |
| 14 | Gansu Wind Farm | Wind | 6,000 |
| 15 | Guazhou Changle power station | Coal | 6,000 |
| 16 | Guodian Yulin Jingbian power station | Coal | 6,000 |
| 17 | Guoxin Dafeng power station | Coal | 6,000 |
| 18 | Qingyang UHV Transmission power station | Coal | 6,000 |
| 19 | Xiaohaotu power station | Coal | 6,000 |
| 20 | Nuozhadu | Hydro | 5,850 |
Browse by fuel
Power plants in China by region
Cite this
Inzonex PowerAtlas (2026). Asset-level power-plant CO2 emissions — China. Derived from WRI GPPD, Climate TRACE, US EPA GHGRP and EU ETS (CC BY 4.0). https://inzonex.co.uk/poweratlas/china/
Frequently asked questions
How many power plants are in China?
There are 6,332 current or operating power-plant records in China in this open dataset, with about 2,367,387 MW of capacity. Historical and pipeline records remain available separately.
What is the largest power plant in China?
Three Gorges Dam is the largest at about 22,500 MW (hydro).
What fuels generate electricity in China?
The most common plant type in this dataset is coal (1747 plants), across 11 fuel types in total.
How clean is China's electricity grid?
China's grid carbon intensity is about 525 gCO₂/kWh, with 41.7% low-carbon generation (<a href="https://ember-energy.org/" rel="nofollow">Ember</a> / <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy" rel="nofollow">Our World in Data</a> (CC BY 4.0)).