This is Yves. Besides the headline that King Coal won’t disappear as quickly as some would like, this article further contains additional points that won’t make climate change fighters happy. First, coal serves as a transitional energy source for many U.S. utilities. Second, (what a surprise!) data center demand is driving electricity consumption beyond many predictions.
By Tsvetana Paraskova, editor for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for media outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. Originally published on Oil Price
- Coal still represents around 16% of electricity production.
- Coal is in decline, but not at the rapid pace that environmental activists and enthusiasts would have liked.
- But coal-fired power generation could increase in summer, especially if heat waves hit areas where wind power can’t provide additional electricity.
Despite a continued decline in coal-based electricity generation in the United States, coal’s share of the U.S. electricity mix remains above 15%, more than any other renewable energy source.
All renewable energy sources combined (wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass, and geothermal) have surpassed coal-fired generation in the U.S. electric power sector. for the first time in 2022. But coal still represents around 16% of electricity production, more than the share of wind power which is around 11%, that of hydroelectricity of 6% or that of solar energy of 4% of the electricity production mix.
It is true that the production and share of coal has declined in recent years – thanks to the rise of renewable energy and a higher share of natural gas-generated electricity due to increased production and the fall in gas prices. But coal still plays a role in providing reliable baseload electricity, and while its share and contribution to the U.S. power system is declining, it is by no means negligible.
Coal is in decline, but not at the rapid pace that environmental activists and enthusiasts would have liked.
The Biden administration aims to make the U.S. power grid zero-emissions by 2035. But that would be difficult to achieve, given that currently fossil fuels – primarily natural gas and coal – provide 60% of total electricity production in the United States. Last year, gas accounted for 43% and coal more than 16%.
At the start of this year, coal’s share remained above 15%, although coal-fired power generation fell between January and April to its lowest level in four years, according to LSEG data cited by the Reuters columnist. Gavin Maguire.
Coal consumption typically declines in the spring and fall – the so-called “shoulder” season – when heating and cooling demand is at its lowest.
But coal-fired power generation could increase in summer, especially if heat waves hit areas where wind power can’t provide additional electricity.
In addition, operators anticipate fewer withdrawals of coal-fired capacity this year, according to EIA data. Operators plan to retire 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of U.S. power generation capacity in 2024, with coal and natural gas together accounting for 91% of planned U.S. capacity retirements this year. year. Total capacity planned for retirement would be 62% lower than last year, when 13.5 GW was taken offline, and the lowest on record since 2008.
After 22.3 GW of U.S. coal-fired power capacity was retired over the past two years, coal retirements will slow in 2024, the EIA announced in February. The 2.3 GW of coal-fired capacity scheduled for retirement represents 1.3% of the U.S. coal fleet in service at the end of 2023. Coal-fired retirements are expected to rebound in 2025, when operators plan to decommission 10.9 GW.
The United States is now phasing out coal generation capacity every year, but some regions rely more than others on coal for electricity generation, while the expected increase in electricity demand due to data centers intended to support AI technologies will also require a stable power supply.
Five US states rely on coal for more than half of their electricity generation. These are North Dakota, Missouri, Kentucky, Wyoming and West Virginia, notes Reuters’ Maguire.
Additionally, data centers have seen such an explosion growth that they tax public services beyond what the growing demand for electricity demands.
Some utilities in the eastern and southern United States are proposing to develop new natural gas-powered capacity alongside renewable energy to support growth in electricity consumption from data centers. Others have planned to delay the timetable for removing coal-fired capacity to ensure grid reliability.
For example, Kansas City-based utility Evergy said in June 2023, it announced that it would end coal operations at its Lawrence Energy Center only in 2028, compared to previous plans for a late 2023 withdrawal.
“Our service area is experiencing some of the most robust electricity demand growth in decades, including very large projects such as the Panasonic electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant and data center Meta, as well as large-scale economic development in Kansas and Missouri,” Evergy said. said President and CEO David Campbell last year.
