Coal Power Continues Its Slow March Toward Death
In 2017, sustainable energy has become "the new normal" in America, and coal power continues slipping away.
Coal production slightly increased in 2017, as did coal prices. But that's not because more Americans are using coal energy. Instead, American coal has become more valuable for its metallurgical properties in China. Coal energy production is facing something of a crisis in 2018, with almost 15 gigawatts of generation capacity expected to be retired this year. These retirements occur for a variety of reasons, from shifting regional priorities to a plant's old age.
The fate of the coal industry has become intertwined with politics, but BCSE reports shows that move away from coal and toward energy sustainability be seen increasingly across wide swaths of the American society. There have been efforts to modernize coal through carbon capture and storage as well as through digitization. While these new techniques may have extended the life of a plant here or there, they remain too expensive or simply not enough to stand against green energy and natural gas.
While 2017 wasn't a perfect year for renewable energy its successes point towards future growth, whereas coal's future as an energy source remains as dismal as it has been in recent years.
Source: GreenTech
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