A Compare the Market analysis of countries across the world finds that some countries are not ready for renewables, while others are closing more power stations than they’re building.
South Africa is closing five coal-fired power plants by 2040, with a plan to rely on more gas and nuclear power.
Currently, this means South Africa is closing more power plants than it’s planning on building.
Several other countries are closing more power stations than they’re building – far more than South Africa currently has planned. The US is set to close 228 coal-fired power stations by 2040, but is building 11 new power stations. China is closing 150, but is building 72, while Japan is closing 100, but building five additional ones.
This doesn’t mean that the US, China and Japan are losing overall supply, as they still have a vast established grid of generators of various types. Many of the plants that are being shut down are old coal-fired power stations, which become less reliable and efficient as they age, increasing the number and frequency of outages and leading to reduced generation so that maintenance work can be carried out.
In terms of overall power generation, the US, China and Japan have the biggest networks of power stations in the world. Other countries with smaller power grids are also closing more generators than they’re building.
Chile is planning to close all coal-fired stations by 2040, but isn’t currently building any new power stations of any kind. But energy security has forced other nations to delay their plans to close coal plants, at least for now.
Australia has delayed closing its biggest coal-fired power station until April 2029, while New Zealand has done the same for the coal generators in the Huntly Power Station, delaying their closure from 2026 to 2030.
Many countries had planned on shifting to renewable energy in the next coming decades, but such goals are repeatedly delayed. For example, France had shut down 14 nuclear power stations and was planning on reducing nuclear power in favour of green renewables, but has since changed course and is planning on building six new nuclear power stations. The push for renewables is continuing across the world, but the infrastructure is not yet there to support the transition to net-zero power.
In terms of total number of active power stations, across all types, Japan has the most at 15 127, followed by the US at 14 383 and China at 13 609. In terms of power stations per capita, Greece has the highest at 72,24 per 100 000, followed by Norway at 20,40 and Japan at 12,35.
| Number of power stations in different countries | ||
| Countries | TOTAL | POWER STATIONS PER CAPITA |
| Greece | 7,152 | 72.24 |
| Norway | 1,163 | 20.40 |
| Japan | 15,127 | 12.35 |
| Germany | 9,864 | 11.79 |
| Italy | 6,456 | 10.96 |
| Spain | 4,500 | 9.39 |
| France | 4,957 | 7.43 |
| Finland | 382 | 6.82 |
| Chile | 981 | 4.93 |
| UK | 3,173 | 4.53 |
| USA | 14,383 | 4.12 |
| Canada | 1,305 | 3.22 |
| New Zealand | 137 | 2.58 |
| Australia | 564 | 2.07 |
| South Africa | 1,004 | 1.53 |
| Russia | 1,411 | 0.98 |
| China | 13,609 | 0.97 |
| Argentina | 329 | 0.71 |
| Mexico | 418 | 0.31 |
| India | 3,640 | 0.24 |
Meredith O’Brien, head of energy at Compare the Market, notes that it’s possible Australia could fast-track its transition to renewables, but given the current state of things, that’s highly unlikely.
“Trying to speed up the current transition would require a massive investment and would be a planning headache, in addition to the existing significant expense of current energy projects. With current projects facing delays, cost blow-outs and other serious issues, it feels like the current plan isn’t going to cut it, hence why some coal power plants have been kept online longer than originally planned,” says O’Brien.