Coal news and updates

U.S. coal-fired power plants scheduled to shut

U.S. power companies have shut or converted about 16,000
megawatts (MW) of coal-fired power plants since 2009 and have plans to shut or
convert more than 38,000 MW over the next 10 years or so.
Cheap natural gas prices and strict environmental rules have made coal the
more expensive option in some areas.
Eventually, the switch away from coal may shut 60,000 MW to 100,000 MW of
power generation across the country, according to industry estimates.
In 2012, low gas prices from record shale production depressed power prices
to at least 10-year lows, making it uneconomic for generators to install new
environmental controls on their oldest and smallest coal plants.
Those controls are needed to keep the units compliant with federal
environmental rules proposed since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
There are about 318 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power plants in the United
States, about 30 percent of the nation's 1,051 GW generation fleet.
The US Energy Information Administration in November forecast coal used
for power generation will rise from 37.4 percent in 2012 to 39.4 percent in 2013
and 40.2 percent in 2014.
Natural gas used for power generation, meanwhile, was expected to decline
from 30.4 percent in 2012 to 27.4 percent in 2013 and 26.9 percent in 2014 on
forecasts that higher gas prices will prompt generators to burn more coal, EIA
said.

Source: Reuters