Coal finds new life as data centers drive demand By EPN Staff Utilities plan to retire twice as much coal-fired generating capacity this year compared to 2024, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Companies have said they plan to retire 8.1 gigawatts (GW), a little less than 5% of the total U.S. coal fleet, the EIA said. Last year the industry retired 4 GW of coal, much less than the nearly 10 GW a year retired over the previous decade, the EIA said. Why it matters This year’s planned retirements are less than half of the retirements once planned, a shift that reflects anticipated spikes in demand. In late 2023, the expectation was utilities would retire 16.6 GW coal capacity in 2025, S&P Global reported. Data centers’ enormous need for energy “could be a lifeline for coal power,” S&P Global reported in late 2024. That demand is boosting nearly all energy sources, but President Donald Trump has backed coal in particular as a way to feed demand, telling the World Economic Forum in January that “Nothing can destroy coal. … And we have more coal than anybody.” Yes, but Any reprieve may be short term, though, partly because natural gas is cheaper and renewable energy has been growing in popularity, experts told the Associated Press in January. The bigger picture Despite domestic consumption cuts, global coal production was at or near an all-time high last year, approaching 10 billion tons, the Associated Press reported. The biggest demand is in Asia, and China continues to build new coal-fired plants along with a slew of new renewable energy projects. U.S. coal exports hit a six-year high last year and have increased each year since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a worldwide dip, according to the Energy Information Administration. Additional detail Including coal, utilities plan to retire 12.3 GW of capacity in 2025, a 65% increase in retirements compared with 2024, the EIA said. Coal plants make up most of this capacity retirement (66%), followed by natural gas (21%), the EIA said. Most of the natural gas retirements are simple-cycle turbine plants which, unlike combined cycle plants, don’t convert excess heat into usable energy, meaning they’re less efficient. Most of these natural gas retirements are in Texas , where multiple units at the V H Braunig plant are slated to retire, and Pennsylvania, where two units are expected to shutdown at Eddystone. These Texas and Pennsylvania units were built between 1966 and 1974, the EIA said. The largest coal retirement is in Utah, where an aging plant will be replaced by a new natural gas combined cycle plant that is expected to come online in July. Large coal plants will also retire in Michigan and Maryland, the EIA said.
