[ad_1]
Global coal-fired power generation capacity hit a record high last year, with China building the most new capacity, but also helped by a slowdown in the retirement of coal-fired power plants around the world. It became.
This is according to data from Global Energy Monitor, a transition outlet that tracks energy trends. The data also showed that coal-fired power plant retirements have slowed since 2020, when total global retirements exceeded 40GW. In 2023, this has decreased to just over 20 GW.
Meanwhile, China added 47GW of new coal-fired power capacity last year, accounting for 66% of the world’s new capacity additions. India and Indonesia followed suit by adding significant new coal production capacity.
“Coal’s fortunes this year are extraordinary. All signs point to a turn away from this accelerated expansion,” said Flora Champenois, coal program director at Global Energy Monitor.
“But countries that plan to retire coal-fired power plants need to do so sooner, and countries that have plans for new coal-fired power plants need to ensure that coal-fired power plants are never built. “Otherwise, we may forget to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and reap the benefits that a rapid transition to clean energy will bring,” she says of the report’s findings. I also mentioned this in the comments.
This may be easier said than done, as coal continues to provide the baseload, dispatchable kind of power that even China’s large-scale wind and solar installations cannot guarantee. Therefore, there is an urgent need to expand coal-fired power generation.
There is also the issue of the cost of coal substitutes. Last year, the Indian government announced plans to triple coal production to meet the country’s growing energy demand.
“India is on a high growth trajectory, expanding industrially and economically,” Amrit Lal Meena, an official in the coal ministry, told the Financial Times last November. “Coal continues to play an important role in India’s economic growth and development.”
Written by Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
Other top articles on Oilprice.com:
[ad_2]
Source link
