Posted on 01/13/2020 1:15:29 PM PST by yesthatjallen
U.S. coal-fired power plants shut down at the second-fastest pace on record in 2019, despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to prop up the industry, according to data from the federal government and Thomson Reuters.
Power companies retired or converted roughly 15,100 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired electricity generation, enough to power about 15 million homes, according to the data, which included preliminary statistics from the Energy Information Administration and Reuters reporting.
That was second only to the record 19,300 MW shut in 2015 during President Barack Obama’s administration.
The replacement of coal with power generation from natural gas and renewables has cut total U.S. carbon emissions in four of the past five years. Gas emits about half the carbon dioxide, a leading contributor to global warming, as coal.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Naturally they take digs at Trump for wanting to revive coal.
Here's the truth buried in the last paragraph:
But Rhodium said further big emissions reductions from coal retirements would be harder to achieve because many of the remaining facilities are commercially competitive.
Of course the coal plants aren't closing and retiring because the people who operate these plants want to save the world from 'man made global warming'. They're closing, retiring, and converting coal plants because natural gas in currently cheaper.
Also it looks like coal plants which are harder to retire will remain operational because they're 'commercially competitive'.
Part of this effect is from competition with low cost Natural Gas.
Thank the dems!
Gas is cheap. When gas is cheap, people will burn it rather than the more-expensive coal.
Nothing wrong with that.
I think the coal miners can live with the fact that economics might put them out of work. It’s green busy bodies that have to screw up everything
And? Your point is what - as usual Orange Man bad right? Go away.
Which explains the current war on Fraking and Natural Gas by the Same Eco facists that declared war on Coal.
>>Part of this effect is from competition with low cost Natural Gas.
Which the Green extremists will go after next.
Generation and networks are generally in the hands of States, and they can still, despite Trump’s attempts to avoid, stupid, costly and inefficient non-coal regulations at a Federal level, can still force these things on their local utility companies and rate-payers.
No ash disposal with bat gas.
Reuters is heaping blame on Trump for what is actually an outstanding success
The transformation from coal to gas got underway sometime ago and reached a higher level in 2019.
Reuters should be destroyed.... Anti Trump is Anti America
My husband works at one of the largest coal fired plants in the country. Both of their 1300 megawatt units are shut down - not needed. It’s too warm, so demand is down. Natural gas is CHEAP so naturally, the companies are going to go with the gas plants. The renewables have replaced a lot of the coal fired but the EPA regulations had already taken their toll on coal before Trump got in office. As my husband says “ that horse is already out of the barn”
Many of whom are financed by Arab Oil.
The groundwork for this was set during the reign of Obama the not so great. It was inevitable. A hard course to turn around especially as we improved our natural resources to the point we far exceed all others in such fuels.
Israel is fracking in the Mediterranean and has become a net energy exporter.
Next?
California and New York have nixed gas production in their states.
With gas produced in California desalinization plants could be built to solve their water problem. Nixing gas is in effect nixing water
Call fired or even large power plants are becoming more and more obsolete as distributed power takes over the business
Right now in California more than 50% of the peak load of 60,000 MW is Photovoltaic on any given summer day in the sun
Furthermore small natural gas fired power plants of 40 to 60 MW are incredibly cheap and small and easy to Tie in
to the different distribution points For a utility
Pretty impressive technology to be able to harness gas from the little critters! ;)
Exactly. And closure were planned and approved by the various PSCs YEARS ago.
closing because you’re being overtaken by new technology is not the same as closing down because the government arbitrarily shut you down.
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