$224 Billion to Be Invested In New Coal-fired Power Plants Next Year

Next year new coal-fired power plants capable of generating 112 GW of electricity will start operations. Nearly all the investment will be in Asia. This is the latest projection in Fossil & Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis & Forecast published by the McIlvaine Company (USA).

China is continuing its ambitious program and will average one new 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant start-up every two weeks. India has an equally ambitious program.

The investment in a 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant is over $2 billion. Almost all the power plants, with the exception of a few in West Asia and the CIS (former Soviet bloc countries), will have expensive SO₂ control equipment. All the Chinese power plants will also have NO_x controls. 

Most power plants will be supercritical with higher efficiency but also higher capital investment. This investment in new power plants will be less than the investment in upgrading and retrofitting existing power plants. China is adding selective catalytic reactors for NO_x control to 400,000 MW of existing capacity.

U.S. coal-fired power plants are investing heavily in equipment to meet the new air toxic rules. European power plants are modifying power plants to increase efficiency and burn biomass in addition to coal.