The retirement of coal-fired power plants by U.S. utilities is pushing onward as the sector deals with economic and environment pressures.
A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that coal-fired plant owners closed more than 13 GW of capacity. This was the second highest annual total for coal-fired retirements, with the highest being 15 GW in 2015.
U.S. power companies have announced the retirement of close to 550 coal-fired units since 2010, according to the EIA. This totals close to 102 GW of generating capacity. Some utilities, such as Oklahoma Gas & Electric and others, are converting their coal-fired plants to burn cheaper natural gas.
