U.S. to shutter 14.9 GW of coal-fired & add 46.1 GW of utility scale solar PV in 2022

[rangerrebew]

 


U.S. to shutter 14.9 GW of coal-fired & add 46.1 GW of utility scale solar PV in 2022
2 hours ago
David Middleton
 

Guest “You can’t fix stupid” by David Middleton

    JANUARY 11, 2022
    Coal will account for 85% of U.S. electric generating capacity retirements in 2022

    Operators have scheduled 14.9 gigawatts (GW) of electric generating capacity to retire in the United States during 2022, according to our latest inventory of electric generators. The majority of the scheduled retirements are coal-fired power plants (85%), followed by natural gas (8%) and nuclear (5%).

    Coal. After substantial retirements of U.S. coal-fired electric generating capacity from 2015 to 2020 that averaged 11.0 GW a year, coal capacity retirements slowed to 4.6 GW in 2021. However, we expect retirement of coal-fired generators to increase again this year; 12.6 GW of coal capacity is scheduled to retire in 2022, or 6% of the coal-fired generating capacity that was operating at the end of 2021.

    Most of the plants making up the operating U.S. coal fleet were built in the 1970s and 1980s. U.S. coal plants are retiring as the coal fleet ages and as coal-fired generators face increasing competition from natural gas and renewables.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/01/12/us-to-shutter-14-9-gw-of-coal-fired-and-add-46-1-gw-of-utility-scale-solar-pv-in-2022/

[Kamaji]

What is the typical age of the coal plants being shuttered?

[Fishrrman]

We are headed -- at some as-yet-to-be-known point in the future -- towards an energy disaster that will shake Western Civilization to its foundations.

But it must happen before humanity collectively comes to grips with why civilization must (and always will) produce a requisite amount of "pollution" in order to continue as "civilization".

[Joe Wooten]

What is the typical age of the coal plants being shuttered?

Damn near all of them are over 40 years old ans several are 50 or older. 40 years is the design lifetime of all power plants designed up until the 1990's. THose plants are old and worn out.

[Kamaji]

Damn near all of them are over 40 years old ans several are 50 or older. 40 years is the design lifetime of all power plants designed up until the 1990's. THose plants are old and worn out.

So at least they're not taking still-valuable plants offline.

That being said, they aren't being replaced with newer real power plants (I don't consider most of the "green" power infrastructure to be "real" in the sense of being able to provide a reliable baseline for what current society needs), so that decision will come back to bite us in the behind.

[Fishrrman]

The smart move would be to begin designing replacements for these coal-fired plants right now.
Have the designs ready-to-go for when the crisis hits (the failure of alternative energy systems and the collapse or near-collapse of the national power grid)...

[Joe Wooten]

The smart move would be to begin designing replacements for these coal-fired plants right now.
Have the designs ready-to-go for when the crisis hits (the failure of alternative energy systems and the collapse or near-collapse of the national power grid)...

The designs are there for either coal fired steam plants or gas fired combined cycle plants. We just have to build them. There have been a few dirt burners completed in the last decade.

[Hoodat]

Damn near all of them are over 40 years old ans several are 50 or older. 40 years is the design lifetime of all power plants designed up until the 1990's. THose plants are old and worn out.

It is nearly impossible to modernize them because of government regulations.  The plant owners cannot adopt one environmental improvement without adopting every other improvement on the list.

[Joe Wooten]

It is nearly impossible to modernize them because of government regulations.  The plant owners cannot adopt one environmental improvement without adopting every other improvement on the list.

They cannot even replace worn out equipment without having to make the plant comply with ALL environmental regulations, so they patch broken stuff and limp along.

[rangerrebew]

I remember Imam Obama refusing to approve building gasoline production plants because they took 8 years to build and we didn't have enough time left to wait that long.  So I have to guess we will see those plants break down soon, also.

[Hoodat]

Solar output in North Georgia is zero today.  Entire sky is overcast, and solar panels covered with snow.  Thankfully, we rely on gas, nuclear, and coal.

[Smokin Joe]

46.1 GW of solar PV capacity translates to less than 10% of that in bad weather, so when the crunch comes, there will be a net loss of 8GW..

[mountaineer]

Are we sure the coal-fired plants are being closed? Maybe St. Greta ate them.

How dare you?!?

[Kamaji]

Are we sure the coal-fired plants are being closed? Maybe St. Greta ate them.

How dare you?!?