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The report 'Boom and Bust Coal 2026' by Global Energy Monitor analyzes the global coal plant pipeline in 2025, highlighting a growing disconnect where coal capacity continues to increase—driven primarily by China and India—while actual coal-fired electricity generation declines due to the rapid expansion of wind and solar power.

This report by RMI details the development of transition credits to accelerate the retirement of coal-fired power plants, using a pilot project at the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) plant in the Philippines as a case study. It outlines a four-phase framework for moving from project origination to concept development, emphasizing the need for high-integrity baselines, clean energy replacement portfolios, and just transition planning to ensure additionality and avoid moral hazard.

This case study examines a results-based loan incentive used to accelerate the retirement of units 14 and 15 of the Tocopilla coal plant in Chile. In 2021, IDB Invest and Engie Energia Chile (EECL) closed a deal to finance the 151 MW Calama wind farm, utilizing a blended finance package that reduced the interest costs for EECL based on the volume of carbon emissions abated through the early decommissioning of the coal units.

In 2022, Starwood Energy Group accelerated the retirement of the Logan and Chambers coal plants in New Jersey by 30 months. This was achieved through a three-part strategy: renegotiating PPAs with Atlantic City Electric to save ratepayers $30 million, refinancing $200 million in debt via MetLife to fund the transition, and planning the redevelopment of the sites into grid-scale battery storage (876 MWh and 960 MWh). The move is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 3.9 million tons.

This case study examines the managed phaseout of the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) coal plant in the Philippines. In 2022, ACEN Corporation sold its equity in the plant to a special purpose vehicle (SPV), reducing the plant's operating life by 25 years to a retirement date of 2040. The transaction utilized a structure based on the Asian Development Bank's energy transition mechanism to lower the cost of capital and facilitate ACEN's transition toward 100% renewable energy by 2025.

This consultation brief by the Climate Policy Initiative examines the conflict between financial institutions' net zero portfolio targets and the need to finance the managed early retirement or retrofitting of unabated coal-fired power plants.

This briefing by RMI outlines the concept of a "managed phaseout" for coal power plants, arguing that financial institutions must move beyond simple divestment to actively fund the early closure of plants and the transition to clean energy to ensure the process is just and equitable for workers and communities.

This briefing by RMI analyzes the state of the global coal transition in 2022, highlighting a contradiction where coal emissions are poised to break records while retired and canceled coal capacity also hit record levels. The document focuses on the emergence of Coal Transition Mechanisms (CTMs) and Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) as critical financial levers to accelerate the shift from coal to clean energy, particularly in South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Climate Policy Initiative, Climate Bonds Initiative, and RMI have developed guidelines to manage the reputational and financial risks associated with Coal Transition Mechanisms (CTMs). These mechanisms aim to accelerate the retirement of coal plants and the expansion of renewable energy, particularly in emerging markets where 93% of coal capacity is protected from market pressures by regulation or long-term contracts.

This briefing by RMI examines how several US states are using securitization—a financing tool that replaces high-cost utility capital with low-interest ratepayer-backed bonds—to facilitate the equitable retirement of coal-fired power plants. The document details how this mechanism can lower electricity rates for consumers, enable utility investment in clean energy, and provide funding for displaced workers and affected communities.