Global coal-fired electricity generation is expected to suffer its biggest ever fall in 2019, according to the annual industry assessment from the conservative International Energy Agency, and its near term future will depend almost entirely on decisions made in China’s next five-year plan. According to the International Energy Agency’s Coal 2019 report, released this week in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2019 will see a record-breaking decline in coal-fired electricity generation capacity of over 250 terawatt hours (more than Australia’s entire electricity output), or more than 2.5% of global output. The falls have largely been driven by double-digit reductions in the US and in Europe, including in Germany were coal generation is expected to fall by a massive 18 per cent. Cheap gas is partly responsible, but cheap renewables are also having their mark, with renewables expect to overtake coal in the US in 2020.
Renew Economy 19th Dec 2019 read more »