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There is renewed talk in the United States of a comeback in coal energy, inspired by the return of Donald Trump as president and predictions of a sharp rise in electricity demand.
The evidence so far only shows that some factories are getting a small extension to their retirement date. This means a slowdown in coal consumption, which is bad for the environment, but does little to change the long-term trajectory for the domestic coal industry.
In October, I wrote that five of the nation's 10 largest coal-fired power plants were retiring. Today I'll revisit the list, provide some updates, and then take a few steps back to look at America's coal-fired power plants as a whole. Think of this as the “before” picture that can be judged by the “after” in four years.
Some coal-fired power plant owners have already postponed retirement schedules. The biggest example, this one from just before the elections, is the Gibson plant in Indiana, the second largest coal-fired power plant in the country. The closure will take place in 2038 instead of 2035, following an October announcement from its owner, Duke Energy.
But the changes do not represent a comeback for coal in this country. To achieve this, energy companies would have to build new power stations to replace the many that are closing, and there is virtually no development of new coal-fired power stations.
That said, there have been some changes since October.
Just a few months ago, Southern Co. that it planned to close Plant Bowen in Georgia by 2035. Bowen is the largest coal-fired power station in the country, with a summer capacity of 3,200 megawatts.
