The Dramatic Shift Away from Coal-Fired Electricity in the United States from 2008 to 2016

The document analyzes the decline of coal-fired power in the US, noting that over 20% of the 2016 capacity is uneconomic compared to natural gas. It projects further retirements through 2030 and discusses the economic and environmental implications for local communities.

• An economic stress test reveals that 57 GW of installed coal capacity, representing more than 20 percent of the nation's 2016 coal-fired generating capacity, is uneconomic when compared to existing natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) units.
• Between 2017 and 2030, plant owners have announced the retirement of more than 38 GW of coal generating capacity, which accounts for 13 percent of the 2016 national capacity. An additional 13 GW, or 5 percent of the 2016 capacity, is slated for either retirement or conversion to natural gas by 2030.
• Applying a 'cost adder' of $10 per metric ton of emitted CO2 increases the number of uneconomic coal units to 92 GW, or 32 percent of the national fleet, when compared to existing NGCC plants. In this scenario, over 40 GW (14 percent of the 2016 fleet) also become uneconomic compared to new wind generation.
• The transition away from coal is expected to reduce the population living within three miles of an operating coal plant from approximately 3.3 million to just under 1.9 million.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (n.d.). The Dramatic Shift Away from Coal-Fired Electricity in the United States from 2008 to 2016. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/09/A-Dwindling-Role-for-Coal-fact-sheet.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. The Dramatic Shift Away from Coal-Fired Electricity in the United States from 2008 to 2016. n.d. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/09/A-Dwindling-Role-for-Coal-fact-sheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=The Dramatic Shift Away from Coal-Fired Electricity in the United States from 2008 to 2016 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/09/A-Dwindling-Role-for-Coal-fact-sheet.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientistsnddramatic, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{The Dramatic Shift Away from Coal-Fired Electricity in the United States from 2008 to 2016}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/09/A-Dwindling-Role-for-Coal-fact-sheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }