Coal-fired power station

A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a <a href="/facts/Thermal_power_station/CmdLdGNt">thermal power station</a> which burns <a href="/facts/Coal/83kV3qxg">coal</a> to generate <a href="/facts/Electricity/hNC8D65W">electricity</a>. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average <a href="/facts/Nameplate_capacity/cCIsQueQ">capable</a> of generating a <a href="/facts/Gigawatts/VK8oqRrm">gigawatt</a> each. They generate about a third of the <a href="/facts/Electric_energy_consumption/eEl4r39x">world's electricity</a>, but cause many illnesses and the most early deaths per unit of energy produced, mainly from <a href="/facts/Air_pollution/zmk9Dy7S">air pollution</a>. World installed capacity doubled from 2000 to 2023 and increased 2% in 2023.
A coal-fired power station is a type of <a href="/facts/Fossil_fuel_power_station/ryQElUJs">fossil fuel power station</a>. The coal is usually <a href="/facts/Pulverizer/hyjKmYff">pulverized</a> and then burned in a <a href="/facts/Pulverized_coal-fired_boiler/5LaGoPtE">pulverized coal-fired boiler</a>. The furnace heat converts boiler water to <a href="/facts/Steam/RDGCdmzT">steam</a>, which is then used to spin <a href="/facts/Turbine/gqosKCkI">turbines</a> that turn <a href="/facts/Electric_generator/5sATsUGX">generators</a>. Thus chemical energy stored in coal is converted successively into <a href="/facts/Thermal_energy/eVaKAC7K">thermal energy</a>, <a href="/facts/Mechanical_energy/gI4oMzoY">mechanical energy</a> and, finally, <a href="/facts/Electrical_energy/V0pJUrDY">electrical energy</a>.
Coal-fired power stations are the largest single <a href="/facts/Attribution_of_recent_climate_change/6pEq3FKL">contributor to climate change</a>, releasing approximately 12 billion tonnes of <a href="/facts/Carbon_dioxide/xGzpppEp">carbon dioxide</a> annually, about one-fifth of global <a href="/facts/Greenhouse_gas_emissions/Cu9nXPHE">greenhouse gas emissions</a>. China accounts for over half of global coal-fired electricity generation. While the total number of operational coal plants began declining in 2020, due to retirements in Europe and the Americas, construction continues in Asia, primarily in China. The profitability of some plants is maintained by <a href="/facts/Externality/hGgw7gtT">externalities</a>, as the <a href="/facts/Health_and_environmental_impact_of_the_coal_industry/tyf3SxEG">health and environmental costs</a> of coal production and use are not fully reflected in electricity prices. However, newer plants face the risk of becoming <a href="/facts/Stranded_asset/qvgBlRHa">stranded assets</a>. The <a href="/facts/UN_Secretary_General/2nNU9WMu">UN Secretary General</a> has called for <a href="/facts/OECD/CI9W2zGv">OECD</a> nations to <a href="/facts/Coal_phase_out/TaIL5e45">phase out coal-fired generation</a> by 2030, and the rest of the world by 2040.

Coal-fired power station open-in-new

Coal-fired power station