Thermal efficiency of coalfired power plants: From
#0183;#32;1. Introduction. Coal will continue to be a dominant energy source also in the next decades. It was responsible for 41% of the world power generation in 2012 and is projected to be around 31% in 2040 .Coalfired power plants have been in continuous development for more than 100 years with considerable efforts to improve the capacity and thermal efficiency.