UK’s largest coal-fired power generator has shelved plans to build a dedicated biomass unit but said it is ready to invest heavily in co-firing facilities, which mix environmentally friendly biomass with coal, if enough government support is forthcoming.

Sri Lanka is planning to build a $500 million worth coal power plant in Sampur, located in the Eastern province of the country.

The Bangladeshi government is planning to shift to coal as fuel for power generation by setting up seven coal-based plants with a total output of 4000 MW by 2014.

Polish state-owned coal company Weglokoks has said that the country’s coal exports could halve this year while its imports will rise 10 per cent.

China, India and Russia will drive global energy growth in the next 25 years, any significant withdrawal from nuclear will have “alarming implications”, and a major cut in renewable energy subsidies because of economic austerity would make it “very difficult for the sector to come back to life", are among the conclusions from the latest IEA report.

China’s largest independent power producer has had an $800m plan for two new 600 MW coal fired units approved by the government’s regulator.

The chief minister of Pakistan’s Sindh province, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, has confirmed he has had discussions with China Three Gorges International Corporation (CTGI), which wishes to invest up to $15bn by 2020.

India’s Central Electricity Authority claims that political red tape is hampering the country’s coal supply and warns that a serious shortfall is looming.

China’s State Electricity Regulatory Commission has warned that tight coal supplies and a drop in hydroelectric power could result in a power shortfall of 26 GW in the coming months.

Vietnam’s state-owned oil & gas company Petrovietnam (PVN) has awarded its subsidiary a contract to build a 1200 MW coal fired power plant in the south of the country.

The Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP), a European Union (EU) and industry funded initiative, has said in a report that power plants fitted with carbon capture technology will need government support beyond 2020, especially following a sharp drop in carbon prices.

The call for bids to supply 350 MW from new plants that generate electricity from renewable energy, or natural gas and coal has been extended until the 26 August said Delsur, the company representing eight distribution companies.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) stands out as one of the most important technological solutions if Europe is to achieve its goals for energy and climate change, insists the EU Commissioner for Energy, Guenther Oettinger.