Ripe for Retirement

The Union of Concerned Scientists identifies a range of 16 to 32 coal-fired generating units in Michigan as economically uncompetitive compared to natural gas and renewable energy. The report highlights that 87 percent of the state's coal capacity exceeds its 30-year design lifetime, and many of these plants lack modern pollution controls, contributing significantly to public health issues and carbon emissions. The document advocates for retiring these plants in favor of wind, solar, and energy efficiency to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 18.7 million tons annually and stimulate the state's clean energy economy.

• Michigan possesses one of the oldest coal power plant fleets in the United States, with 87 percent of its coal capacity exceeding the 30-year design lifetime. Over half of the state's coal plants were built before 1970, and nearly one-third have been operating for more than 50 years.
• An economic analysis identifies between 16 and 32 coal-fired generating units in Michigan as 'ripe for retirement,' representing 10 to 29 percent of the state's total coal generation capacity (1,190 MW to 3,532 MW). Michigan ranks fifth nationally in the amount of coal generating capacity deemed economically uncompetitive.
• The majority of Michigan's 'ripe for retirement' coal generators lack essential pollution controls. Specifically, 83 percent of the 32 units identified in the high-estimate scenario lack all four vital control technologies (scrubbers, selective catalytic reduction, baghouses, and activated carbon injection), and 96 percent lack scrubbers.
• Replacing the 3,532 MW of identified ripe-for-retirement coal generators with wind power and other zero-emissions sources would reduce annual CO2 emissions by 18.7 million tons, which is 26 percent of the emissions from Michigan's total coal fleet.
• The economic competitiveness of coal plants is highly sensitive to natural gas prices. Under low natural gas price scenarios, the amount of ripe-for-retirement capacity increases to between 3,099 and 9,047 MW (26 to 74 percent of the fleet), whereas high gas prices reduce this range to 832 to 1,930 MW (7 to 16 percent).
• Michigan's clean energy sector is growing, with 121 companies in the solar supply chain and 120 in the wind supply chain providing over 10,000 jobs. The state's 2008 renewable electricity standard has already spurred more than $100 million in new investments.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2012). Ripe for Retirement. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Ripe-for-Retirement-Michigan-Report.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Ripe for Retirement. 2012. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Ripe-for-Retirement-Michigan-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Ripe for Retirement |date=November 2012 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Ripe-for-Retirement-Michigan-Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2012ripe, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Ripe for Retirement}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2012}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Ripe-for-Retirement-Michigan-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }