Report identifies 2.6 GW of coal plants in US Midwest are uneconomic

• 6 years ago (2017-10-11)
• David Flin

Coal 274 North America 998

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The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has released a report identifying 2.6 GW of coal capacity across just six Midwest states in the USA that are considered uneconomic, raising the possibility that these plants will be closed in the near future.

The report found that across the USA, 21 per cent of all coal-fired generation capacity is uneconomic, and an additional 18 per cent of national coal-fired capacity is in the process of closure or conversion to natural gas.

Jeremy Richardson, a Senior Energy Analyst for the UCS, described the report as a “snapshot in time of what the operating costs were of these units in 2016 compared to cleaner alternatives. We don’t claim that any of the plants we found to be uneconomic will be retired.” Richardson said that across the USA, the uneconomic plants are concentrated in the South and Southeast. He added that the electricity markets are more regulated, where integrated utility and generation companies can charge their customers for the costs of generating electricity, even if cheaper options are available. Midwestern states have a deregulated market, and many older, uneconomic plants have already closed or been replaced.

The UCS report offers a number of policy recommendations to hedge against the over-building of natural gas plants to replace coal, as well as steps that can be taken locally to mitigate the economic impacts. Richardson said that the transition away from coal is well underway and unlikely to be derailed, despite the Trump Administration’s removal of the Clean Power Plan, and a recent request for the Federal Government to provide support for uneconomic coal plants. He said: “We are in the midst of a transition away from coal which is primarily driven by economic forces.”