Coal once powered much of the world’s economy — and now countries, cities, and utilities are moving away from it faster than many expected. This archive tracks plant closures, policy shifts, and clean-energy transitions that are shrinking coal’s role in the global energy mix.
A tax on carbon dioxide emissions in Great Britain, introduced in 2013, has led to the proportion of electricity generated from coal falling from 40% to 3% over six years, according to research led by UCL.
Researchers from the University of California – San Diego found that tens of thousands of deaths had been avoided between 2005 and 2016 by replacing coal plants.
India has cancelled plans to build nearly 14 gigawatts of coal-fired power stations – about the same as the total amount in the U.K. – with the price for solar electricity “free falling” to levels once considered impossible.
“2019 may mark the beginning of the end for coal power in Europe,” said Dave Jones, an Electricity Analyst at Sandbag.
UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action Michael Bloomberg has announced Beyond Carbon campaign to close the United States’ fleet of coal plants and halt new gas plants.
The move would slash the share of coal within the electricity grid from 40% to 20% in five years, with a view to phasing out the fuel completely by 2040.
Estimates suggest 2018 was the first time there has been a reduction in coal-fired power capacity across the world since the industrial revolution.
This turning point is decades in the making — not a policy target, but an economic reality arriving ahead of schedule. Wind and solar costs have dropped so sharply that 74% of the U.S. coal fleet could now be replaced by renewables while still saving customers money. April’s seasonal conditions give renewables a boost they don’t always enjoy, and annual parity remains years away. But the direction is no longer in doubt — and as utilities retire coal plants early, this milestone signals to energy markets worldwide that the crossover isn’t hypothetical anymore.
RWE, one of Germany’s “big four” utilities, has cancelled plans for the BoA plus lignite coal-fired power station and promised to cease investing in new coal generation capacity.
Coal-burning power plants will get the axe in 2020, and all other coal-burning in Puerto Rico will be eliminated by 2028.
