Coal fired power plant

Coal fired power plants are a type of power plant that make use of the combustion of coal in order to generate electricity. Their use provides around 40% of the world’s electricity, and they are primarily used in developing countries.

Countries such as South Africa use coal for 94% of their electricity and China as well as India use coal for 70-75% of their electricity needs. However, the amount of coal China uses dwarfs most other countries (see the data visualization below). The use of coal provides access to electricity to those who previously didn’t have it, which helps to increase quality of life and reduce poverty in those regions, however it produces large quantities of different pollutants which reduces air quality and contributes to climate change.