Coal Dominates Global Power Generation

Coal remains the dominant source of electricity globally, despite the growing installation of wind turbines and solar panels. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects coal-fired power plants to generate 10,974 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2026, nearly one-third of the 33,313 TWh of electricity produced worldwide.

Natural gas is a distant second at 6,976 TWh, followed by hydropower at 4,536 TWh, solar at 3,289 TWh, wind at 2,898 TWh, and nuclear at 2,871 TWh. Coal will generate nearly as much electricity this year as natural gas and hydropower combined.

The IEA expects renewables collectively to overtake coal in 2026 for the first time, but this requires adding hydropower, solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and other renewables together. No individual source is close to coal.

The ongoing U.S.-Iran war has prompted a change in the forecast, with the loss of LNG supplies through the Strait of Hormuz sending gas prices sharply higher in Europe and Asia, making coal more competitive for power generators.

Coal generation is now expected to rise instead of fall, as utilities still need power when the wind slows, the sun goes down, or demand suddenly jumps. Natural gas has increasingly filled this role in markets trying to reduce coal consumption.

China and India are highly dependent on coal, with coal supplying around 55% of Chinese electricity in 2025 and roughly 71% of Indian electricity last year. Across Southeast Asia, the share was about 48%.

For China and India, it’s not as simple as replacing one form of electric power generation with another, as the Asian push to build massive new electricity supplies from cleaner sources is also driven by rising demand.

The IEA expects solar generation to jump around 30% this year and wind by roughly 10%, helping push total renewable generation up more than 8%. Even after this growth, solar will generate 3,289 TWh in 2026 and wind 2,898 TWh, compared to 10,974 TWh from coal.

Renewables only move ahead of coal if hydropower is added, which will generate another 4,536 TWh this year.

As the world continues to install more renewable capacity, it’s likely that coal will remain a significant source of electricity for years to come, with the IEA expecting coal to remain the world’s largest individual source of electricity through 2030.

This growth in demand makes the transition to renewable energy a long and complex process.

It is clear that the transition will take time.