With the shelving of two coal plant proposals in Honduras and Brazil in 2025, Latin America no longer has any new coal plants actively proposed – a collapse of the 18 plants totaling 7.3 gigawatts (GW) of capacity proposed in 2015, according to Global Energy Monitor’s Global Coal Plant Tracker.
On May 21, the government of Honduras announced that it was joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), a coalition of governments and others committed to transitioning away from coal – with the most prominent member being the UK, which retired its last coal plant in 2024. The entry of Honduras into the PPCA implies a cancellation of its last coal plant proposal, the 0.1 GW Puente Alto Energy power station, which has not seen any notable developments since its announcement in 2022.
Similarly, Brazil’s last active coal plant proposal – the 0.6 GW Pedra Altas power station – was considered shelved in GEM’s Q1 2025 update as there has been no movement on the plant’s licensing since August 2023, when the plant's Risk Management Program and Emergency Response Plan were rejected by Brazil's environmental authority, IBAMA. There are also no new coal plants proposed in Brazil’s national energy auctions this year, with a decrease in coal power generation projected through 2034 in the country’s most recent ten year energy plan.
The shelving of Latin America’s last two coal plant projects marks a broader decline in coal power development across the region. No coal plant proposals in Latin America have advanced in the permitting process since 2019, nor has any new construction begun since 2016.
The one coal plant still under construction in the region, Argentina’s long-delayed Río Turbio power station, remains mired in technical difficulties, cost overruns, and allegations of corruption.
The Latin America region is also nearly on track to meet the 1.5°C target of the Paris Climate Agreement, which requires a global phaseout of unabated coal power by 2040, according to the IEA’s Net Zero scenario. Based on planned retirements and phaseout commitments, over 60% (10 GW) of the region’s 16.3 GW of operating coal power capacity is scheduled to come offline by 2040.
Remaining coal plants without a retirement date are concentrated in Mexico (4 GW), the Dominican Republic (1.1 GW), and Brazil (0.6 GW). Both Mexico and the Dominican Republic are PPCA members, but have yet to set a coal phaseout date.
With no active coal proposals in Latin America and Brazil hosting the COP30 climate talks this year, the region is in a prime position to lead the charge in the global coal-to-clean energy transition – and help keep the Paris Climate Agreement on track.
About the Global Coal Plant Tracker
The Global Coal Plant Tracker provides information on coal-fired power units from around the world generating 30 megawatts and above. It catalogs every operating coal-fired generating unit, every new unit proposed since 2010, and every unit retired since 2000. The map and underlying data is updated bi-annually, around January and July. Around April and October, partial supplemental releases also cover updates to proposed coal units outside of China.
Media Contact
Christine Shearer
Project Manager, Global Coal Plant Tracker
