The Time Is Now to Reconsider Planned Generation Projects

This briefing by RMI argues that power sector leaders should reconsider planned coal-fired generation projects due to the falling costs of renewables and storage, evolving grid needs, and the risk of creating long-term cost burdens for taxpayers and customers.

• There is a significant global pipeline of planned coal capacity, with over 640 GW of grid-connected coal plants under development. The vast majority of this, 630 GW, is planned within low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs).
• A substantial portion of planned coal plants are prime candidates for reconsideration. Specifically, 170 GW of planned plants were initiated more than ten years ago, and over 100 GW of those had been previously canceled or shelved before being revived. Additionally, 370 GW of planned plants have not yet started construction and have limited sunk costs.
• RMI proposes a framework for evaluating whether a plant should be reconsidered based on five criteria: the fuel source, the date of original conception, attached sunk costs and contractual obligations, the intended grid role, and how grid needs have evolved since planning.
• Economic assessments suggest that alternatives to coal, such as solar generation paired with four-hour or eight-hour battery energy storage (BESS), can offer significant savings compared to new ultra-supercritical coal plants planned in 2026. Concessional finance, such as low-cost debt, can be used to bridge viability gaps in regions with suboptimal renewable resources or to offset existing sunk costs.

APA

RMI (2026). The Time Is Now to Reconsider Planned Generation Projects. https://rmi.org/resources/the-time-is-now-to-reconsider-planned-generation-projects/

Chicago

RMI. The Time Is Now to Reconsider Planned Generation Projects. 2026. https://rmi.org/resources/the-time-is-now-to-reconsider-planned-generation-projects/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Time Is Now to Reconsider Planned Generation Projects |date=4 June 2026 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-time-is-now-to-reconsider-planned-generation-projects/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2026time, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Time Is Now to Reconsider Planned Generation Projects}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-time-is-now-to-reconsider-planned-generation-projects/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }