U.S. power generators plan to remove about 8.1 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power generation capacity this year, which would roughly double the amount that was retired in 2024, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.
Coal retirements slowed last year to 4 GW, a sharp decrease from the 9.8 GW retired annually over the past decade, the EIA said in its analysis.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The country’s electricity supply from coal, which was once the primary source of U.S. electricity, has dropped to about 16%, giving way to the rise of cheaper natural gas operations and renewable energy.
Climate-driven government goals have accelerated the decline of coal-fired power, which produces significantly more carbon dioxide when burned than most other electricity sources.
However, in the U.S., home to a third of world data centers, utilities have delayed the retirement of fossil-fuel power plants as a slew of sprawling new data centers plug into the grid.
BY THE NUMBERS
In 2025, some of the country’s biggest coal power plants are expected to be taken offline, including the 1.8-GW Intermountain Power Project in Utah, and the J H Campbell in Michigan and Brandon Shores in Maryland, which both have about 1.3 GW of capacity, the EIA said.
More than 12.3 GW of total power capacity is planned for retirement this year, which would be a 65% increase from 2024. Coal makes up 66% of those planned retirements and natural gas takes up 21%.
Most of the expected natural gas power plant retirements use single-turbines, which are less efficient than combined-cycle plants.
RENEWABLES ON THE RISE
As fossil-fired plants retire, the EIA said it expects the addition of 63 gigawatts of new utility-scale power generating capacity in 2025. Solar power is expected to make up the largest share of those new additions, followed by battery storage, wind and natural gas, the EIA said.
The additions would amount to a nearly 30% increase from 2024, which saw the biggest capacity installation in a single year since 2002, the agency said.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney Editing by Marguerita Choy)