Boom & Bust 2020

Boom & Bust 2020 is a report by Global Energy Monitor and partners analyzing global coal-fired power plant development in 2019. It details a general decline in the pipeline for new coal capacity, driven by financial restrictions and climate commitments, though this trend is countered by significant new capacity coming online in China.

• Global coal capacity saw a net increase of 34.1 GW in 2019, the first net addition since 2015. This growth was driven almost entirely by China, where 68.3 GW of new capacity began operating, while the global fleet outside of China shrank for the second consecutive year.
• The global pipeline for new coal plants is shrinking across multiple stages. Total capacity in pre-construction and construction stages fell from 1,468 GW in 2015 to 499.2 GW in 2019. Specifically, pre-construction capacity dropped 82% from 1,152.5 GW in 2015 to 299.6 GW in 2019.
• China's coal fleet grew by a net 36.8 GW in 2019, but the government limited the impact by designating 40% (17.9 GW) of the new capacity as 'emergency reserve' status, which restricts its operational hours.
• In the OECD, coal capacity has declined since 2011. The United States saw significant retirements in 2019 (16.5 GW), with the average annual retirement rate under the Trump administration (13.7 GW) being 67% higher than under the Obama administration (8.2 GW).
• Japan has become the primary driver of new coal power in the OECD. It is developing 11.9 GW of domestic capacity and financing 24.7 GW of coal power abroad, which exceeds the total size of Australia's coal fleet (24.4 GW).
• Financial support for new coal is tightening, with no commercial banks from the US, Europe, or Australia providing direct project finance for construction started in 2019. However, public financing remains significant, particularly from the Export-Import Bank of China and Indian state-aligned vehicles like the Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
• In Southeast Asia, new construction starts fell by over 85% from 12.8 GW in 2016 to 1.8 GW in 2019. Indonesia has 11.8 GW under construction, while Vietnam has 8.7 GW under construction and 22.3 GW in pre-construction.
• India's pre-construction pipeline fell by half from 60.2 GW in 2018 to 29.3 GW in 2019. Turkey now has a larger pre-construction pipeline (31.7 GW) than India.
• Global coal power generation decreased by 3% in 2019, with the lowest historical average utilization rate of 51%. Significant decreases occurred in the EU (-24%) and the US (-16%).
• To limit global warming to 1.5°C, the IPCC states that coal power use must drop by 80% by 2030. The UN has requested a moratorium on new coal plant proposals starting in 2020.

APA

Shearer, C., Myllyvirta, L., Yu, A., Aitken, G., Mathew-Shah, N., Dallos, G., & Nace, T. (2020). Boom & Bust 2020. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Indonesian_11.pdf

Chicago

Shearer, Christine, Lauri Myllyvirta, Aiqun Yu, Greig Aitken, Neha Mathew-Shah, Gyorgy Dallos, and Ted Nace. Boom & Bust 2020. Global Energy Monitor, 2020. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Indonesian_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=Boom & Bust 2020 |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=March 2020 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Indonesian_11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{shearer2020boom, author = {Shearer, Christine and Myllyvirta, Lauri and Yu, Aiqun and Aitken, Greig and Mathew-Shah, Neha and Dallos, Gyorgy and Nace, Ted}, title = {{Boom \& Bust 2020}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Indonesian_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }