This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Global Coal Plant Tracker | |
|---|---|
| Name | Global Coal Plant Tracker |
| Type | Database |
| Founded | 2010s |
| Owner | Carbon Tracker Initiative / Global Energy Monitor |
| Country | International |
| Status | Active |
Global Coal Plant Tracker is an independent open dataset that records existing, proposed, cancelled, and retired coal-fired power plants worldwide. It aggregates information on capacity, commissioning dates, ownership, and development status to inform climate change analysis, energy policy debates, and financing decisions across jurisdictions such as China, India, United States, European Union, and Japan. The project is maintained through partnerships involving research organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and regional monitoring networks including Carbon Tracker Initiative, Global Energy Monitor, and national research institutes.
The Tracker compiles unit-level and site-level records for coal-fired facilities across regions including Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. It is used by analysts at institutions such as International Energy Agency, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Environment Programme, and advocacy groups like Greenpeace and Sierra Club to evaluate trends in coal capacity, retirements, and pipeline cancellations. Policymakers from entities like the G20, European Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, and national ministries consult the dataset when assessing commitments related to the Paris Agreement and national Nationally Determined Contribution submissions. Journalists at outlets including Reuters, The Guardian, and Financial Times have cited its figures in reporting on plant developments and financial exposure.
Records are sourced from public disclosures, company reports, regulatory filings, satellite imagery analysis, and media reports from markets such as China National Energy Administration, Power Grid Corporation of India, Public Service Commission filings in the United States, and planning documents published by utilities like China Huaneng Group, NTPC Limited, and Tata Power. The Tracker uses unit-level verification to distinguish commissioning stages similar to methods used by International Energy Agency datasets and inventory projects like Global Coal Mine Tracker. Contributors cross-check information against datasets from S&P Global Market Intelligence, BloombergNEF, and national grid operators. Metadata fields capture developer ownership chains (including subsidiaries of State Grid Corporation of China and Enel), permitting authorities (e.g., provincial commissions), and construction timelines, employing provenance standards akin to those used by World Resources Institute projects.
The dataset covers metrics such as nameplate capacity (megawatts), operational status (operating, under construction, retired), commissioning year, thermal efficiency, cooling type, and emissions intensity estimates. It distinguishes planned versus announced projects and includes cancellations and suspensions. Spatial coverage spans facility coordinates useful for overlay with Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery and proximity analysis to protected areas and urban populations. Emissions estimates are derived by combining capacity data with emission factors comparable to methods in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments and national Greenhouse Gas Inventory practices. Ownership links enable exposure analysis for financiers including China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China, Asian Development Bank, and private banks previously named in coal financing debates.
Analyses using the Tracker have documented a decline in new coal plant pipeline projects following commitments by actors like European Commission climate policy initiatives and announcements by major utilities including Engie and Iberdrola to exit coal. Regional trends show growth in coal capacity during the 2000s and 2010s concentrated in China, India, and Indonesia, followed by a wave of cancellations influenced by market forces and policies in jurisdictions such as South Korea and Vietnam. Studies drawing on the dataset illustrate stranded asset risk for power companies and lenders, echoing scenarios developed by Carbon Tracker and modelling groups at Princeton University, Oxford Martin School, and Stanford University on pathways consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goals.
Governments and multilateral institutions have used Tracker data to justify coal phase-out timelines, inform retrospective analyses for COP negotiations, and assess alignment of public finance with climate commitments. The dataset has been cited in policy papers by European Investment Bank reviews, used in advocacy campaigns targeting institutions such as Export-Import Bank of the United States and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and informed sovereign risk assessments by rating agencies like Moody's and S&P Global. Civil society organizations employ the data in litigation and shareholder engagement alongside legal actors referencing precedents from cases in Netherlands and United Kingdom concerning environmental duties.
Critics note limitations in real-time accuracy where rapid regulatory changes occur in countries like Turkey and Pakistan, and potential gaps in coverage for small-scale or private mini-grid projects in regions including West Africa and Central America. Methodological debates compare the Tracker’s unit-level approach to alternative datasets from IEA and BP Statistical Review that use national reporting; discrepancies can arise from differences in counting methodology, treatment of long-stalled projects, and proprietary data access. Observers from industry trade groups and some utilities have questioned attribution of ownership for complex holding structures involving conglomerates such as Adani Group and Jindal Steel.
The Tracker interfaces with projects like Global Coal Mine Tracker, Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, OpenStreetMap overlays, and academic initiatives at institutions including University of Oxford, Tsinghua University, Harvard University, and University College London. Collaborations extend to environmental NGOs such as World Resources Institute partners and regional monitoring networks in Southeast Asia and Africa. Its outputs have been integrated into modelling exercises by groups like Climate Analytics, Stockholm Environment Institute, and IIASA to inform low-carbon transition pathways.
Category:Energy databases Category:Coal-fired power stations