The IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2015 revealed that while coal demand has slowed marginally, it still accounts for 30% of global primary energy consumption and more than 40% of electricity generation.
China remains the world’s highest consumer, followed by the US and India, which combine to account for 70% of global coal demand.
During the same period, coal demand grew by 2.9% in non-OECD economies. This rise in coal consumption was explained through several factors, including high gas prices/low coal prices, more severe weather and increasing demand in Japan.
China added an additional 53 gigawatts of new coal plants in 2012, with its government now pursuing a policy of building only supercritical or ultra-supercritical units.
Permission to build is also usually only provided at the expense of retiring ageing facilities.
India, however, has favoured a program of less efficient subcritical units, adding 21GW in 2012. Coal-fired generation continues to expand across Southeast Asia too, with the region also favouring less efficient, subcritical units.
Between 2002 and 2012, the annual growth of carbon dioxide emissions from the coal sector was 3.7%, yet over the past five years that figure has halved, which suggests progress is being made.
However, the report recommended three principles for future coal-fired power stations:
- Facilities should offer the highest possible efficiency;
- Plants must be able to operate with sufficient flexibility to balance electricity supply; and demand by compensating for variable supply from increasing renewable power; and
- If not initially installed with carbon capture and storage, stations should be designed for future retrofit of carbon dioxide capture.
