Boom and Bust Coal 2025

In 2024, global new coal capacity reached its lowest level in two decades at 44 GW, though China and India continued significant expansions. While the EU27 saw a fourfold increase in plant closures and the UK shut its last coal plant, Indonesia faces a contradictory trend: overall proposed capacity is down 90% since 2015, but 'captive' coal plants for industrial use are surging. Indonesia's transition is further complicated by conflicting government statements on a 2040 phase-out, the withdrawal of the US from the JETP leadership, and record coal production reaching 831 million tons in 2024.

• Global new coal-fired power plant capacity in 2024 was 44 GW, the lowest level recorded in 20 years since 2004, and approximately 30 GW below the 2004–2024 annual average of 72 GW.
• China and India dominated new coal developments in 2024, together accounting for 92% of all newly proposed global coal capacity (107 GW out of 116 GW). China saw its highest number of construction starts since 2015 with 94 GW, while India proposed 38 GW of new capacity.
• The European Union (EU27) experienced a fourfold increase in coal plant closures in 2024, rising from 2.7 GW in 2023 to 11 GW, with Germany contributing 6.7 GW. The United Kingdom became the sixth country to fully phase out coal since the 2015 Paris Agreement by closing its final coal plant.
• In Indonesia, while proposed coal capacity fell 90% from 49.7 GW in 2015 to 4.9 GW in 2024, there is a surge in 'captive' coal plants serving high-energy industries. Captive plants accounted for over 80% of Indonesia's 1.9 GW of new capacity in 2024, with operating captive capacity increasing from 5.5 GW in 2019 to 16.6 GW in 2024.
• Indonesia's energy transition is hindered by contradictory policy signals and funding instability. While President Prabowo mentioned a 2040 fossil fuel phase-out, the National Electricity Plan 2024–2060 outlines an additional 26.7 GW of coal capacity over seven years. Additionally, the US withdrew from its leadership role in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in February 2025, with Germany and Japan taking over.
• Indonesia reached a record coal production of 831 million tons in 2024, which was 17% above the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) target, with over half of this production exported.

APA

Trend Asia (2025). Boom and Bust Coal 2025. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Boom-and-Bust-Coal-2025-Indonesian.pdf

Chicago

Trend Asia. Boom and Bust Coal 2025. 2025. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Boom-and-Bust-Coal-2025-Indonesian.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Trend Asia |title=Boom and Bust Coal 2025 |date=April 2025 |url=https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Boom-and-Bust-Coal-2025-Indonesian.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trendasia2025boom, author = {{Trend Asia}}, title = {{Boom and Bust Coal 2025}}, institution = {Trend Asia}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Boom-and-Bust-Coal-2025-Indonesian.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }