Published: June 18th, 2024,
Last updated: May 28th, 2025

Currently, plans exist to shut down one-tenth of the world’s coal power plants by 2030. However, a new study reveals that in developing countries alone, 800 coal power plants – amounting to one-third of all coal plants globally – could be profitably closed and replaced by clean solar energy. There are approximately 2,400 coal power plants in operation worldwide, producing 15.5 billion tons of CO2 emissions annually.