New Delhi, Feb. 4 -- Even as China's expansion of solar and wind power raced ahead in 2025, the Asian giant opened many more coal power plants than it had in recent years - raising concern about whether the world's largest emitter will reduce carbon emissions enough to limit climate change.

More than 50 large coal units - individual boiler and turbine sets with generating capacity of 1 gigawatt or more - were commissioned in 2025, up from fewer than 20 a year over the previous decade, a research report released Tuesday said. Depending on energy use, 1 gigawatt can power from several hundred thousand to more than 2 million homes.

Overall, China brought 78 gigawatts of new coal power capacity online, a sharp uptick from previous years, ac...