COAL POWER 28 PERCENT MORE EXPENSIVE IN 2024 THAN IN 2021

Analysis shows that the weighted average cost of coal power in the U.S. rose from $36/MWh in 2021 to $46/MWh in 2024, a 28 percent increase that outpaced inflation. This rise is attributed to higher fuel, operations, and maintenance costs, as well as declining capacity factors. Despite these economics, some U.S. federal policies and state regulators have extended the lives of expensive plants, such as Plant Bowen in Georgia and the Hunter and Huntington plants in Utah, potentially increasing the financial burden on electricity consumers.

• The average cost of generating power via coal in the United States increased by 28 percent between 2021 and 2024, rising from a weighted average of $36/MWh to $46/MWh. This increase exceeded the 16 percent rise in the Consumer Price Index over the same period, resulting in an additional $6.2 billion cost for consumers based on 2024 generation levels.
• Cost increases were widespread across the U.S. coal fleet; 95 percent of the 162 analyzed plants were more expensive in 2024 than in 2021, and 76 percent of plants saw costs rise faster than inflation.
• Regional cost disparities exist, with the highest average costs in 2024 found in Delaware and New Hampshire. Other high-cost states include Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Virginia, often due to the high cost of coal from mines east of the Mississippi.
• Specific plants have seen dramatic cost increases despite extended operational timelines. Plant Bowen in Georgia saw costs rise from $46/MWh to $72/MWh, and the Williams plant in South Carolina increased by $27/MWh. In Utah, costs for the Hunter and Huntington plants nearly doubled from approximately $30/MWh to over $60/MWh following the indefinite idling of the Lila Coal Mine in 2023.
• The decline of coal is driven by the superior economics of wind, solar, batteries, natural gas, and efficiency. Previous research indicated that 99 percent of coal plants were more expensive to operate than to replace with local wind or solar.

APA

Energy Innovation (n.d.). COAL POWER 28 PERCENT MORE EXPENSIVE IN 2024 THAN IN 2021. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Coal-Cost-Update.pdf

Chicago

Energy Innovation. COAL POWER 28 PERCENT MORE EXPENSIVE IN 2024 THAN IN 2021. n.d. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Coal-Cost-Update.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Energy Innovation |title=COAL POWER 28 PERCENT MORE EXPENSIVE IN 2024 THAN IN 2021 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Coal-Cost-Update.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{energyinnovationndcoal, author = {{Energy Innovation}}, title = {{COAL POWER 28 PERCENT MORE EXPENSIVE IN 2024 THAN IN 2021}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Coal-Cost-Update.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }