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The return of Donald Trump to the presidency and predictions of a surge in electricity demand has renewed talk of a return to coal-fired power generation in the United States.
Evidence so far only suggests that some plants are slightly extending their retirement dates. This will mean a slower rate of coal decline, which will have negative environmental consequences, but will do little to change the long-term trajectory of the domestic coal industry.
In October, I wrote about how five of the nation’s 10 largest coal-fired power plants operated. There was a retirement date.. Today, I’d like to revisit the list, provide some updates, and then step back a bit to look at coal-fired power plants in the United States as a whole. Think of this as a “before” photo that you can compare to the “after” 4 years later.
Some coal-fired power plant owners have already postponed their retirement plans. The biggest example, and this was right before the election, is the Gibson Power Plant in Indiana, the second largest coal-fired power plant in the country. the Scheduled to close in 2038, not 2035following an October announcement from owner Duke Energy.
However, this change does not constitute a resurgence of coal in this country. For that to happen, utilities will need to build new power plants to replace the many that are closing, but there is little development of new coal-fired power plants.
However, there have been some changes since October.
Just a few months ago, Southern announced that it intended to close its Bowen, Georgia, plant by 2035 at the latest. Bowen is the largest coal-fired power plant in the country, with a summer capacity of 3,200 megawatts.
