Southeast Asia's Coal Demand Boom

Because coal is the most affordable technology for electric generation in many parts of the world, coal-fired capacity is still being built. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2017, almost 100 gigawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity is expected to come online in Southeast Asia by 2040--more than doubling the region's current coal-fired capacity.¹ (See graph below.) The agency expects Southeast Asia and India to account for the majority of the new coal demand as those economies continue to grow and their demand for electricity increases. Despite some countries shuttering coal-fired power plants and cancelling new plants, IEA expects global coal-fired capacity to increase by about 50 percent over today's levels by 2040.²