China will halt coal-fired power plant construction in 15 regions to address a capacity glut in the industry, China's energy regulator confirmed on Thursday.

Chinese energy regulators stopped the construction of coal-powered power plants in areas where capacity is already in overabundance, including the major coal producers of Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, according to South Energy Observer, a magazine run by China Southern Power Grid Corp.

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An official from the National Energy Administration also confirmed the news to Reuters but refused to give specific comments.

The regulators reportedly issued documents to the local government stipulating that China will no longer approve new coal-powered plants projects in 13 provinces and regions until 2018.

Environmental organization Greenpeace stated that once rules are fully implemented, it could involve 250 power projects with a total capacity of 170 GW. 

"China is finally beginning to clamp down on its out of control coal power bubble," Lauri Myllyvirta, senior campaigner on coal from Greenpeace, wrote in an email. "However, these new measures fall far short of even halting the build-up of overcapacity in coal-fired power generation, let alone beginning to reduce it."

At the end of February, the country's total generation capacity soared to 1,485.5 GW, up by nearly 12 percent year on year. Also, thermal energy, which contains coal-fired capacity, saw a 9.4 percent increase to 1,003.8 GW.

China is reportedly attempting to increase non-fossil fuels share up to 15 percent by 2020, up from 12 percent at the end of 2015.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, reports revealed that China's coal consumption has declined for two consecutive years. China's National Bureau of Statistics revealed that the use of coal plummeted to 3.7 percent in 2015 compared to that of in 2014.

Tagscoal, China coal industry, economic slowdown, coal consumption, Greenpeace, Pollution