Details captured in European Space Agency satellite data show the plume about 90 kilometers (56 miles) east of Shanxi’s capital Taiyuan, in Yangquan City.
Country plans to invest a total of 6 billion euros in new capacities for electricity production by 2040 as it seeks to phase out coal-fired power plants.
Blast furnaces using coal could become unnecessary or inoperable, resulting in "stranded assets" worth $47 billion to $70 billion, the Global Energy Monitor said.
In Shanxi, the country’s biggest coal producing province, 128 of the fossil fuel mines accounting for nearly a quarter of the region’s capacity have suspended operation.