Key facts
- India proposed new coal projects that could add 2.5 billion tonnes annually to global supplies, an 11% increase.
- This surge is largely driven by India's states Jharkhand and Odisha.
- Globally, new coal mine openings fell 40% year-over-year to 113 million tonnes annually.
- India aims to increase domestic coal production to 1.15 billion tonnes in fiscal year 2025-26.
- Wind and solar power surpassed coal generation in the global electricity mix for the first time last year.
India has emerged as the world's largest builder of new coal power generation capacity, proposing as much as 638 million metric tons annually in new capacity last year. This represents a significant surge from 329 million tons annually in the previous year and drove an 11% increase in the global total for new planned coal capacity. The data from Global Energy Monitor highlights India's strategy to satisfy its fast-growing energy demand by utilizing all existing power generation sources, similar to China's approach.
India also intends to increase its domestic coal production, targeting 1.15 billion metric tons for the current fiscal year and 1.5 billion metric tons by fiscal 2026/27. This push for domestic coal comes as higher domestic production and rising renewable energy installations facilitate a switch away from imported coal. India has been successful in reducing its thermal coal imports in recent months, with some power plants now sourcing up to 70% of their coal domestically.
Globally, however, new coal mine additions have fallen by nearly 40% year-over-year to 113 million tons annually, reaching their lowest point in a decade. This decline is particularly notable in China and Australia. Meanwhile, wind and solar power generation surpassed coal in the global electricity mix for the first time last year, according to the energy thinktank Ember.
Global Energy Monitor warns that India's increased mine proposals contradict predictions from the International Energy Agency, which forecasts a slowdown in global coal demand by the end of the decade. Tiffany Means, a co-author of the report, noted the diminishing economic rationale for expanding coal mining as low-cost clean energy alternatives become more prevalent.