China's fossil-fuelled power output drops 4.3% in August as clean sources gain

China's fossil-fuelled power generation declined 4.3% in August compared with a year earlier, marking a second consecutive month of contraction as hydropower, nuclear and renewable output expanded, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Thermal power, which is drawn mostly from coal with a small contribution from natural gas, still recorded a 0.9% increase over the first eight months of the year as a whole.

Hydropower volumes climbed 2.8% in August, while nuclear generation rose 9.4% year-on-year. Two new reactors — the Guangdong Taipingling nuclear power plant and unit 3 of the Changjiang nuclear power plant — began operations during the month, according to state media. Nuclear output was up 1.6% over the January-August period.

Solar and wind generation increased 10.3% and 7.9% respectively in August.

Total power generation for the month stood at 943.8 billion kilowatt-hours, a decline of 0.8% from the same period last year. The statistics bureau's figures cover industrial enterprises with revenue above 20 million yuan ($2.98 million), meaning they exclude some small-scale renewables and generally undercount total generation as well as wind and solar output.

Over the first eight months, national power generation reached 6.65 trillion kWh, up 2.4% compared with the same period a year earlier.