The world is installing wind turbines and solar panels faster than ever, but coal still generates more electricity than any other source, by a huge margin.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects coal-fired power plants to produce 10,974 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2026 — nearly a third of the total global electricity production, which will amount to 33,313 TWh. Natural gas is in second place with 6,976 TWh, followed by hydropower (4,536 TWh), solar energy (3,289 TWh), wind energy (2,898 TWh), and nuclear energy (2,871 TWh).
In other words, this year coal will generate almost as much electricity as natural gas and hydropower combined. Coal generation will be 77% higher than wind and solar generation combined. This creates an awkward moment for the global energy transition.
Renewables versus coal
The IEA expects that in 2026, renewable energy sources combined will overtake coal for the first time. However, this requires combining hydropower, solar and wind energy, bioenergy, geothermal energy, and other renewable sources. Meanwhile, no single source comes close to coal in terms of generation volumes.
This year, coal is getting another unexpected boost from the situation in the global gas market.
Impact of the war between the US and Iran
The IEA entered 2026 expecting a reduction in coal generation. In the Electricity Mid-Year Update 2025 report, the agency forecasted that global coal-fired electricity generation would decrease by 1.3% this year, as renewable electricity generation grows and natural gas displaces coal in some markets. However, the ongoing war between the US and Iran has forced the agency to revise this forecast.
Reduced supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Strait of Hormuz have led to a sharp increase in gas prices in Europe and Asia, making coal significantly more competitive for power plants capable of switching between different fuels. The IEA now expects gas generation in 2026 to remain virtually unchanged, whereas before the war it had forecast a 1.3% increase.
Instead, an increase in coal generation is expected. Wind and solar energy may account for an increasing share of annual electricity production, but energy companies still need stable generation sources when the wind dies down, the sun sets, or demand suddenly increases. Natural gas has increasingly played this role in markets trying to reduce coal consumption. So when cheap gas becomes unavailable, coal becomes more attractive again. This is what is happening this year in some parts of Asia and Europe.
Coal’s dominance is increasingly concentrated in Asia. China alone produces more than half of the world’s coal-fired electricity. In 2025, coal accounted for about 55% of China’s electricity, even as the country continued to install more wind and solar capacity than the rest of the world combined, according to the IEA.
Source: Yahoo
