Yves here. Aside from the headline that King Coal isn’t going away as fast as some would like, the bottom line is that this piece contains additional points that won’t please those who are fighting climate change. The first is that coal serves as a source of electricity for many US utilities. The second is that (quelle surprise!) data center demand is causing electricity consumption to exceed most forecasts.
By Tsvetana Paraskova, an Oilprice.com writer with over ten years of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. Originally published at OilPrice
- Coal still accounts for about 16% of electricity generation.
- Coal is declining, but not at the pace that environmental campaigners and enthusiasts would like.
- But coal-fired power generation may increase in the summer, especially if heat waves hit areas where wind power can’t provide more electricity.
Despite the continued decline of coal-fired power generation in the US, coal’s share of the American electricity mix is still over 15%, more than any other renewable energy source.
All renewable energy sources combined—wind, solar, electric power, biomass, and geothermal—will surpass coal-fired generation in the US electricity sector for the first time by 2022. But coal still accounts for about 16% of electricity generation, more than wind. about 11% share, 6% electric power, or 4% solar power share of the electricity generation mix.
Of course, coal production and share has decreased in recent years – due to the increase in renewables and a higher share of natural gas-fired electricity due to increased production and lower gas prices. But coal still plays a role in providing reliable baseload electricity and while it is falling, its share and contribution to the US electric power system is largely ignored.
Coal is declining, but not at the pace that environmental campaigners and enthusiasts would like.
The Biden Administration aims to make the US electricity grid zero-emission by 2035. But this will be difficult to achieve, considering that current fossil fuels – mainly natural gas and coal – provide 60% of total US electricity generation. Last year, gas was 43% and coal was more than 16%.
Earlier this year, coal’s share was more than 15%, although coal-fired power generation fell between January and April to its lowest level in four years, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters correspondent Gavin Maguire.
Coal consumption generally falls in spring and autumn – the so-called ‘shoulder season’ – when demand for heating and cooling is lowest.
But coal-fired power generation may increase in the summer, especially if heat waves hit areas where wind power can’t provide more electricity.
In addition, operators have planned to phase out less coal power this year, according to EIA data. Operators plan to retire 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of US power generation capacity by 2024, with coal and natural gas together accounting for 91% of planned retirements in the United States this year. The total amount scheduled for retirement will be down 62% compared to last year, when 13.5 GW were retired, and the least in any year since 2008.
After 22.3 GW of U.S. coal-fired power generation capacity went out over the past two years, coal phase-outs will slow by 2024, the EIA said in February. 2.3 GW of coal-fired capacity is slated to retire 1.3% of the US coal-fired fleet by the end of 2023. Coal retirements are scheduled to reverse in 2025 when operators expect to retire 10.9 GW.
The US is now withdrawing coal capacity every year, but some areas depend on coal to generate their electricity more than others, and the expected growth in electricity demand due to data centers supporting AI technology will also require a stable energy 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 Maguire of Reuters.
In addition, data centers have seen so much growth that they are charging more resources than the energy demand demands.
Some utilities in the eastern and southern parts of the US are proposing the construction of new natural gas-fired power plants along with renewables to support the growth in electricity use from data centers. Others plan to delay the timeline for phasing out coal-fired power to ensure grid reliability.
For example, Kansas City-based utility Evergy said in June 2023 that it will cease coal operations at its Lawrence Energy Center only in 2028, compared to previous plans to retire at the end of 2023.
“Our operating environment is experiencing the strongest growth in electricity demand in decades, including mega-projects such as the Panasonic electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant and the Meta datacenter, as well as extensive economic development in Kansas and Missouri,” Evergy’s. said president and CEO David Campbell last year.
Source link