POWER
Power: China makes more, and adds more every year
In 2010 China overtook the US in electricity generation. Since then the gap has kept widening. The question for AI is not only how much, but whether it reaches data centres at a good price.
Key points
- China generated 10,578 TWh in 2025, 2.3x the US (4,520 TWh). In 2010 they were about level.
- In 2025 alone China added 491 TWh, the US 129 TWh: 3.8x as much. China's one-year increase is 1.2x the electricity all the world's data centres used in 2024.
- Cheap is another matter. OIES finds coastal Chinese data centres pay about US$ 0.08–0.14 per kWh, around Virginia's US$ 0.10. China's edge is quantity and speed; the low prices come from subsidies.
Twenty-five years of generation
Show the numbers
| Year | China | US |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,356 | 3,802 |
| 2001 | 1,481 | 3,728 |
| 2002 | 1,654 | 3,844 |
| 2003 | 1,911 | 3,869 |
| 2004 | 2,203 | 3,952 |
| 2005 | 2,500 | 4,035 |
| 2006 | 2,866 | 4,047 |
| 2007 | 3,282 | 4,143 |
| 2008 | 3,496 | 4,108 |
| 2009 | 3,715 | 3,940 |
| 2010 | 4,207 | 4,114 |
| 2011 | 4,713 | 4,089 |
| 2012 | 4,988 | 4,041 |
| 2013 | 5,432 | 4,056 |
| 2014 | 5,794 | 4,096 |
| 2015 | 5,815 | 4,084 |
| 2016 | 6,133 | 4,088 |
| 2017 | 6,604 | 4,052 |
| 2018 | 7,166 | 4,202 |
| 2019 | 7,503 | 4,158 |
| 2020 | 7,779 | 4,043 |
| 2021 | 8,534 | 4,154 |
| 2022 | 8,849 | 4,287 |
| 2023 | 9,456 | 4,254 |
| 2024 | 10,087 | 4,391 |
| 2025 | 10,578 | 4,520 |
Source: Ember
How much is added each year
Show the numbers
| Year | China | US |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +506 | -25 |
| 2012 | +275 | -48 |
| 2013 | +444 | +15 |
| 2014 | +363 | +40 |
| 2015 | +20 | -12 |
| 2016 | +319 | +4 |
| 2017 | +471 | -35 |
| 2018 | +562 | +149 |
| 2019 | +337 | -43 |
| 2020 | +276 | -115 |
| 2021 | +755 | +110 |
| 2022 | +314 | +133 |
| 2023 | +608 | -33 |
| 2024 | +630 | +137 |
| 2025 | +491 | +129 |
Source: Ember
What was built in 2025
| China | US | |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | +315 GW | +34 GW |
| Wind | +119 GW | +6 GW |
| Coal | +70 GW | -4 GW |
| Gas | +22 GW | +4 GW |
| Nuclear | +2 GW | 0 GW |
| Hydro | +5 GW | 0 GW |
| Total (additions only) | +532 GW | +44 GW |
Change in installed capacity from the year before (Ember). Solar and wind produce only part of the day, so a gigawatt of solar yields much less electricity than a gigawatt of coal or nuclear. China also built 70 GW of coal, which runs day and night.
Source: Ember
How much do data centres need?
This is the heart of the power argument. In America, data centres would take a large share of all new electricity; in China, they are a small slice of a much bigger increase. That is why Microsoft says it has chips it cannot plug in, and why Musk wants to put data centres in space.
Plenty, but not necessarily cheap
Prices near America's
Coastal Chinese data centres pay about US$ 0.08–0.14 per kWh, near the Virginia average of US$ 0.10. OIES calls China's energy advantage in AI 'far less than advertised'.
Source: OIES
Subsidies for domestic chips
Local governments cut power bills by up to 50% for data centres that use Chinese chips, which need 30–50% more power than Nvidia's. Power is being used to offset the chip gap.
Source: Semafor
Power going to waste
In January–June 2026, China curtailed 360 TWh of wind and solar, up 49% on a year earlier, more than the whole increase in demand. The grid, not generation, is China's limit.
Source: Global Energy Monitor
Where the US is stuck
In the US the bottleneck is connecting new plants and data centres: turbines, transformers and grid queues run years behind. Power Watch tracks each stage. Power Watch →
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Updated 29 Sep 2026 12:24 JST · US power to Jun 2026, China power to May 2026 · models to 9 Sep 2026