The number of power stations across the world

As the world’s energy demand grows, does it make sense to shut down power stations?

Australia, and many nations across the world, are moving towards a carbon-neutral future, dubbed ‘net zero’. Many coal-based power plants across the country have already been shut down, with the nation’s energy grid looking to renewables and natural gas to meet energy needs.

But there’s a problem. As noted by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), the grid is not ready. On 20 January 2026, Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station – which was meant to close in August 2027 – had its closure delayed until April 2029. This was done to ensure there was enough energy to meet demand.¹

Without this delay, the energy grid could become unstable, as the renewable infrastructure is not quite ready to supply the demand. As experts in comparing energy plans, the Compare the Market team decided to see which countries have the most power stations and what types they are, which are closing down the most, and which are building the most, on a per capita basis.

The problem is not unique to Australia.

New Zealand faced a similar issue in 2025, and the planned staged retirement of one of the Huntly Power Station’s coal and gas-fired generators in 2026 was delayed until at least 2030 to provide back-up power when renewable generation falls below the level needed to meet the country’s supply.²

Other countries have looked at shutting down specific types of energy stations to focus on cleaner power, but got a spanner thrown in the works. France, which gets roughly 70% of its electricity from nuclear power, has already shut down 14 nuclear power stations in an aim of reducing nuclear from over 70% of the grid to 50% by 2025. However, that target was delayed until 2035, before being abandoned altogether. As of January 2026, France has announced six new nuclear reactors and has put another eight on the table.³

The world is stuck between the desire for decarbonised, net-zero, renewables-based power and the cold, hard reality that global power demand is set to grow by more than 3.5% per year until 2030.⁴ Until net-zero and renewable generating infrastructure can handle that demand, it’s not prudent to be shutting down all the coal-fired power plants.

Countries that are closing more power plants than they’re building

America, China and Japan are closing more power stations than they’re building. 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.^5,6,7

This doesn’t mean that they 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 reduced generation so maintenance work can be carried out.⁸

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 2040,⁹ but isn’t currently building any new power stations of any kind. South Africa is also planning on closing down five coal-fired power stations by 2040, and is planning to increase capacity from gas and nuclear power.¹⁰

The nations with the most power stations per capita

Japan, America and China have the most power stations, but when looking at the number of power stations per capita, Greece comes out on top, with 72.24 per 100,000. This is largely driven by an increase in solar power, to take advantage of Greece’s high sunshine hours per day. Norway is next at 12.35, which uses hydroelectricity for the vast majority of its power grid, while Japan is third at 12.35, utilising a variety of energy sources including coal, gas, solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass and nuclear.

The table below lists the number of power stations per country by type.

China has the most coal-fired power stations with 1,526 overall, followed by India with 276 and the USA and Russia with 198 each. However, given the large populations of these nations, that isn’t surprising. Canada has the most diesel-powered generators at 56, with Australia right behind at 55. The USA has the most gas power stations at 1,360, while Japan has the most solar at 14,181.

The countries with the highest number of power stations by type per capita are:

In terms of other power stations by type in raw numbers, China has the most hydro stations at 1,481, followed by the USA at 1,146 and Norway at 1,023. France has the most wind farms at 1,728, ahead of Germany at 1,267 and the USA at 1,258.

Geothermal is a less common type of power, but the USA has the most geothermal plants at 46, while Germany is second with 27. The USA has the most nuclear power with 58 nuclear power plants, while China has 21 and Japan has 19.

How many power stations per capita does Australia have?

Australia sits near the bottom of our index in 14^th place, with 2.07 power stations per capita. This places it below New Zealand, Canada, USA and the UK, but above South Africa, Russia, China and India. India had the lowest number of power stations per capita, due to the nation’s massive population, at 0.24 per 100,000.

Currently, two-thirds of Australia’s power generation is done by fossil fuels, mostly by gas and oil, though this is declining as Australia is investing in renewables like wind, solar and hydroelectricity.¹¹ Out of the 23 power stations Australia is currently building or plans to build, 39% are wind farms, 26% are solar, and 8% are hydroelectric.

Other nations have a much more decarbonised energy grid, having already invested significantly in renewables. For example, Sweden produces the majority of its energy from hydroelectricity and nuclear power, followed by wind power. Heating is typically supplied from bioenergy.¹²

Eventually, Australia will reach a carbon-neutral, renewable-powered future. In fact, it is forecast to be this way by 2050. But in the meantime, coal still needs to stick around to keep the lights on.

Meredith O’Brien, Head of Energy at Compare the Market, notes that The Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has defined the roadmap to net zero targets and have acknowledged the targets for 2035 and 2050 are ambitious.

“The transition plan requires significant and consistent investment with many stakeholders involved in both consultation and development. With current projects facing delays, cost blow-outs and other serious issues like the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project, some coal power plants have been kept online longer than originally planned,” says Ms O’Brien.