Installed global coal power plant capacity in select countries 2024

China has the highest installed capacity of coal power plants in the world. As of July 2024, it operated coal plants with a combined capacity of 1,147.23 gigawatts. This was more than five times the operational capacity of coal plants in the United States, which ranked third. China's carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustion surpassed 8.2 billion metric tons in 2022 - roughly 70 percent of the country's total emissions.

Coal power plant pipeline

While coal use has come under harsh scrutiny over its highly polluting nature, the industry has continued investing in new coal-fired generation plants. The global installed coal power generation capacity is projected to remain at around 2.3 terawatts over the coming decades.

Worldwide, about 204 gigawatts of new coal capacity was under construction in 2023, with a further 353 gigawatts in various stages of planning. However, the capacity of the coal plant pipeline has decreased over the last few years. These announced coal power plants around the world were primarily to serve the growth in coal demand from new power plants in India and China.