US coal power to fall 45% by decade's end in shift from dirtiest fossil fuel
At least 45% of US coal power is set to disappear by the end of the decade, a figure that will likely rise as more utilities conclude their coal-fired plants no longer make financial sense to operate, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
Electricity producers have announced plans to shutter 99.2 GW of coal plants through 2030, IEEFA said in a report released Monday. Another 36.8 GW are scheduled to retire or be converted to natural gas in subsequent years, leaving 82.4 GW of capacity without closure plans. The report comes as US coal prices topped $100 for the first time in 13 years as Russia’s war in Ukraine upends international energy markets.
Still, US utilities are increasingly shifting away from the dirtiest fossil fuel in favor of cheaper natural gas and renewables. That trend is accelerating as tighter environmental rules and increasing maintenance costs make aging coal plants more expensive to operate. With President Joe Biden pushing for a carbon-free power grid by 2035, IEEFA energy analyst Dennis Wamsted expects more closures.
“Without a doubt, it will go higher,” said Wamsted, a co-author of the report. “It’s amazing how many plants are about to be retired.”
The biggest year for closures will be 2028, when stricter Environmental Protection Agency policies take effect and more than 22 GW of capacity are scheduled to go dark. Wamsted said the EPA announced additional restrictions last year that may eventually spur utilities to retire another 18 GW.
US coal power peaked in 2011 with almost 318 GW of generation capacity. About 99 GW closed in the past decade.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation