Nearly 23 Percent of Operating U.S. Coal Fired Power Plants to Retire by 2029: EIA

Twenty Three percent of the 200,568 megawatts of coal fired power capacity presently operating in the U.S. is expected to retire by the end of 2029, as a result of firm competition from gas and renewable resources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.

A yearly average of 9,450 megawatts of U.S. coal fired capability has been taken offline between 2012 and 2021. The yearly average would increase in 2022 to 11,778 megawatts if the outstanding retirements reported to the agency go ahead as planned. After 2022, the speed of planned coal fired phaseouts is projected to slow down considerably, with the agency expecting the largest amount of capacity closure to be in 2028 at 9,842 megawatts.

Older coal fired power facilities are the focus of phase outs, since the older units are inefficient and face high operating and maintenance costs. Moreover, the increasing costs makes these facilities less competitive, compared to other sources of electricity generation, such as gas, solar or wind. An additional factor incentivising early retirement of coal power stations is regulation. Coal power stations must adhere to laws that limit the discharge of wastewater by 2028, implementing changes so that coal plants comply with these regulations requires additional capital expenditure.

Michigan, Texas, Indiana, and Tennessee have the highest coal-fired capacity declared to be phased out up until 2029, accounting for a collective 42 percent. The type of coal being utilised by closing coal plants is transitioning from bituminous to mostly subbituminous and refined coal-fuelled plants. Between 2011 and 2020, bituminous made up for 68 percent of the U.S. coal fired capability that was phased out, but for the 2022 to 2029 period only 31 percent of the planned phaseouts is projected to be from this type of coal. Refined coal which consists of mixing proprietary additives and feedstock coal, profited from a tax credit, which expired at the start of 2022. As it stands, the agency expects 27 percent of the U.S. coal fired capacity that mainly burns refined coal is expected to be phased out between 2022 and 2029.