Global coal generation grew by 1.4 percent (+149 TWh) in 2024, reaching a new record high, slightly below 2023’s increase of 1.9 percent (+190 TWh).
Coal remains the largest single source of electricity, but its share fell to 34 percent in 2024 due to slower growth compared to electricity demand, according to Ember report.
The number of countries generating at least 20 percent of their electricity from coal fell from 59 in 2015 to 40 in 2024.
China saw the largest increase in coal generation (+110 TWh, +1.9 percent), accounting for 74 percent of global growth, though this was much lower than its 2023 increase of 341 TWh.
59 percent of China’s annual coal growth occurred in August and September due to heatwaves, but solar and hydro growth limited overall coal use.
Coal generation rose in India (+63 TWh, +4.3 percent), Viet Nam (+21 TWh, +16 percent), and Bangladesh (+12 TWh, +115 percent).
Coal use declined in the US (-22 TWh, -3.3 percent) and Germany (-21 TWh, -17 percent) in 2024; 37 countries saw decreases in coal generation.
China accounted for 55 percent of global coal electricity (5,864 TWh), followed by India (1,534 TWh) and the US (653 TWh).
Kosovo had the highest coal share in electricity generation (92 percent) in 2024, followed by Mongolia (86 percent) and South Africa (82 percent).
India generated 75 percent of its electricity from coal, more than double the global average.
Kazakhstan’s coal share fell from 67 percent to 55 percent, dropping it out of the top ten coal-reliant countries. Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina entered the top ten with 63 percent each.
Taiwan had the highest coal generation per capita (5,349 kWh), followed by Australia (4,768 kWh) and China (4,132 kWh), all well above the global average of 1,299 kWh.
In 2024, global coal electricity generation rose by 149 TWh. China led the increase with a rise of 110 TWh, followed by India with 63 TWh. Other countries with notable increases included Viet Nam (21 TWh), Russia (14.1 TWh), Bangladesh (12.3 TWh), and South Africa (10.1 TWh). On the other hand, several countries saw declines in coal power. The United States had the largest drop with -22.4 TWh, followed by Germany (-20.6 TWh), South Korea (-17.7 TWh), Ukraine (-12.2 TWh), and the rest of the world combined showed a decrease of -8.8 TWh.
In 2024, China led the world in coal electricity generation with 5,864 TWh, followed by India with 1,534 TWh and the United States with 653 TWh. Other major coal-generating countries included Japan (326 TWh), Russia (225 TWh), Indonesia (217 TWh), South Africa (201 TWh), South Korea (187 TWh), Viet Nam (151 TWh), and Australia (127 TWh).
Kosovo had the highest share of electricity from coal at 92 percent, followed by Mongolia (86 percent), South Africa (82 percent), and India (75 percent). Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and the Philippines each had 63 percent, while Indonesia had 62 percent, China 58 percent, and Morocco 58 percent. The global average share of coal in electricity generation stood at 34 percent.
Taiwan recorded the highest coal power generation per capita at 5,349 kWh, followed by Australia (4,768 kWh) and China (4,132 kWh). Kosovo (3,716 kWh), South Korea (3,663 kWh), Serbia (3,449 kWh), Kazakhstan (3,158 kWh), South Africa (3,135 kWh), Bosnia and Herzegovina (3,028 kWh), and Japan (2,633 kWh) also ranked among the top, all significantly above the world average of 1,299 kWh.
GreentechLead.com News Desk