Published: March 10, 2016 |

U.S. utilities retired power plants that generated nearly 18 gigawatts of electricity last year, with coal-fired plants taking more than 80 percent of the hit, according to an update from the Energy Information Administration on Tuesday.

The loss in coal energy represents about 4.6 percent of the country’s total coal-fired electric generation capacity, an unusually large amount in a single year and above projections made a year earlier.

Although the power plant closures most directly impact Appalachian coal mines, they also represent bad news for those holding out for a rebound in Colorado coal country.

Virginia retired 21 percent of its coal-fired generation capacity last year, while Georgia dropped 18 percent, and Ohio 15 percent, according to the EIA.

Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia also let go of large amounts of coal-generated power capacity.

The cost of generating electricity from natural gas and renewable sources has fallen, and overall electricity demand is growing slowly due to conservation efforts and improved energy efficiency.

That has left older and smaller coal plants, which face the added burden of having to comply with tighter federal rules on mercury emissions, less competitive.

On Colorado’s Western Slope, the Bowie #2 mine near Paonia announced plans to shutter last month, and the Elk Creek Mine near Somerset shuttered in late 2013. Struggling owners of other Colorado mines are trying to find buyers.

The losses of hundreds of mining jobs that paid triple the going wage in places like Delta County have weighed heavily on the economy in that part of the state and driven efforts to find alternative industries.

Another big wave of coal-fired plant closures is expected in April with the expiration of a one-year federal extension to comply with the mercury emission rules, the EIA said.

The average age of the coal power plants closed last year was 54 years versus an average age of 38 years for the coal plants that remain open.

Source: (March 8, 2016) The Denver Post

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