Summary
The March 2019 report 'Boom and Bust 2019' by Global Energy Monitor, the Sierra Club, and Greenpeace tracks the decline in global coal-fired power plant development. It highlights a three-year trend of falling capacity growth, driven by political and economic constraints, while noting that China remains a significant exception due to the resumption of previously stalled projects and proposed capacity increases.
Key insights
- Global coal-fired power plant capacity growth indicators declined significantly in 2018, marking the third consecutive year of decrease. New coal plant construction fell by 39% year-on-year and 84% compared to 2015, while new commissions dropped by 20% year-on-year and 53% compared to 2015. Projects in the pre-construction phase decreased by 24% year-on-year and 69% compared to 2015.
- Coal plant retirements reached high levels in 2018, the third-highest year globally and the second-highest for the United States, which retired 17.6 GW. In the European Union, 3.7 GW were retired, with 2.8 GW coming from the United Kingdom. India has proposed retiring 48 GW of coal plants by 2027, primarily subcritical units that fail to meet emission standards.
- India's coal plant approvals have dropped to historic lows in 2018 (below 3 GW) as solar and wind power growth exceeds coal. This follows a period of over-approval starting in 2003, which led to a bubble that burst around 2012-2013. Currently, the bidding prices for renewables are lower than the operating costs of nearly one-third of India's coal plants.
Cite the original document
- APA
- Shearer, C., Mathew-Shah, N., Myllyvirta, L., Yu, A., & Nace, T. (2019). 繁荣与衰落. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2019_China_r3_11.pdf
- Chicago
- Shearer, Christine, Neha Mathew-Shah, Lauri Myllyvirta, Aiqun Yu, and Ted Nace. 繁荣与衰落. Global Energy Monitor, 2019. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2019_China_r3_11.pdf.
- Wikipedia
- {{cite report |last1=Shearer |first1=Christine |last2=Mathew-Shah |first2=Neha |last3=Myllyvirta |first3=Lauri |last4=Yu |first4=Aiqun |last5=Nace |first5=Ted |title=繁荣与衰落 |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=March 2019 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2019_China_r3_11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}
- BibTeX
- @techreport{shearer2019, author = {Shearer, Christine and Mathew-Shah, Neha and Myllyvirta, Lauri and Yu, Aiqun and Nace, Ted}, title = {{繁荣与衰落}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2019_China_r3_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }
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