Summary
This March 2020 report by Global Energy Monitor and partners tracks the global development of coal-fired power plants in 2019. It highlights a general global decline in new coal plant starts and pre-construction activity, contrasted with a net increase in global capacity driven primarily by China. The report details the shift in financing away from Western commercial banks toward public finance, particularly from Japan and China, and notes a record low in global coal plant utilization.
Key insights
- Global coal-fired power plant capacity saw a net increase of 34.1 GW in 2019, the first such increase since 2015. This was driven by 68.3 GW of new capacity coming online, with nearly two-thirds (64% or 43.8 GW) located in China. Outside of China, global coal capacity has shrunk for two consecutive years.
- Global coal power generation decreased by 3% in 2019 compared to 2018, with significant drops in the EU (-24%) and the US (-16%). Consequently, the average utilization rate for global coal plants fell to a historic low of 51%.
- The United States saw its second-highest recorded level of coal retirements in 2019, totaling 16.5 GW. Average annual retirements during the Trump administration (2017-2019) were 13.7 GW, a 67% increase over the average of 8.2 GW during the Obama administration (2009-2016).
- Japan has become the largest driver of new coal plants among OECD members. Japan is developing 11.9 GW of domestic coal power and provides public finance for 24.7 GW of overseas coal capacity, which is larger than Australia's total coal capacity of 24.4 GW.
- Western commercial banks from the US, Europe, and Australia provided no direct project financing for coal plants that started construction in 2019. In contrast, Japanese commercial banks and public financial institutions continue to fund projects, including the 1.3 GW Yokosuka plant.
Cite the original document
- APA
- Shearer, C., Myllyvirta, L., Yu, A., Aitken, G., Mathew-Shah, N., Dallos, G., & Nace, T. (2020). 繁荣与衰落. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Chinese-1_11.pdf
- Chicago
- Shearer, Christine, Lauri Myllyvirta, Aiqun Yu, Greig Aitken, Neha Mathew-Shah, Gyorgy Dallos, and Ted Nace. 繁荣与衰落. Global Energy Monitor, 2020. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Chinese-1_11.pdf.
- Wikipedia
- {{cite report |last1=Shearer |first1=Christine |last2=Myllyvirta |first2=Lauri |last3=Yu |first3=Aiqun |last4=Aitken |first4=Greig |last5=Mathew-Shah |first5=Neha |last6=Dallos |first6=Gyorgy |last7=Nace |first7=Ted |title=繁荣与衰落 |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=March 2020 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Chinese-1_11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}
- BibTeX
- @techreport{shearer2020, author = {Shearer, Christine and Myllyvirta, Lauri and Yu, Aiqun and Aitken, Greig and Mathew-Shah, Neha and Dallos, Gyorgy and Nace, Ted}, title = {{繁荣与衰落}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Chinese-1_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }
Full text
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