The UK is shut down its final coal-fired power plant yesterday, marking the end of an era for the country’s energy system. Once the backbone of the grid, coal has been steadily replaced with other, less polluting energy sources.
Coal is the most emissions-intensive fuel powering the grid today, and moving away from it, even to other fossil fuels, can help reduce climate pollution. Some countries have started to replace the fuel in earnest—members of the G7, a group of wealthy economies, have all agreed to phase out coal-fired power plants that don’t use carbon capture [by 2035](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/05/g7-coal-power-plant-phase-out-nature-climate-news-06052024/). But coal is still booming in other parts of the world, especially in some larger countries where electricity demand is growing quickly.
My state (Colorado) will complete its phaseout on or before 2031.
We are a coal producer and next to a larger coal producer, so it’s historically been the major power source here.
“Here in China, we’re just getting started!”
>As of 2024, China has about 1,118 coal-fired power plants currently in operation, accounting for over 50% of the global total. In addition, China is actively building more coal capacity, with around 70 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power plants under construction as of 2023, the highest annual construction start since 2015.
Likely gone from the U.S. power stack by the mid 2030s.
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**From the article:**
The UK is shut down its final coal-fired power plant yesterday, marking the end of an era for the country’s energy system. Once the backbone of the grid, coal has been steadily replaced with other, less polluting energy sources.
Coal is the most emissions-intensive fuel powering the grid today, and moving away from it, even to other fossil fuels, can help reduce climate pollution. Some countries have started to replace the fuel in earnest—members of the G7, a group of wealthy economies, have all agreed to phase out coal-fired power plants that don’t use carbon capture [by 2035](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/05/g7-coal-power-plant-phase-out-nature-climate-news-06052024/). But coal is still booming in other parts of the world, especially in some larger countries where electricity demand is growing quickly.
My state (Colorado) will complete its phaseout on or before 2031.
We are a coal producer and next to a larger coal producer, so it’s historically been the major power source here.
“Here in China, we’re just getting started!”
>As of 2024, China has about 1,118 coal-fired power plants currently in operation, accounting for over 50% of the global total. In addition, China is actively building more coal capacity, with around 70 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power plants under construction as of 2023, the highest annual construction start since 2015.
Likely gone from the U.S. power stack by the mid 2030s.