Coal retirements "fundamentally changing" U.S. energy economy
With coal plant retirement news from Maryland and Pennsylvania last week, one-third of all coal-fired power plants in the country are now scheduled for retirement, bringing the total up to 158 of the nation's 523 coal-fired power plants, according to the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign.
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| Click to enlarge. Credit: U.S. Energy Information Administration |
In the transition to a cleaner energy economy, the Sierra Club is calling on utilities, state government officials to ensure a responsible transition.
"When the Beyond Coal campaign began in 2010, few people could have imagined that within four years, this country would revolutionize the way that it produces and uses energy. The end of coal is coming, and millions of Americans are already benefitting from cleaner, affordable, more modern sources of energy like wind and solar," said Bruce Nilles, director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. "America is at a transformative moment in its history. We're fundamentally changing the way we power the country."
As utilities and energy companies realize that coal can be increasingly expensive both monetarily and in terms of the environment, and that renewable energy prices are becoming more attractive, they are transitioning their resources to cleaner, renewable sources like wind and solar.
The price of solar panels has dropped 80 percent in three years, and the cost of wind has dropped 90 percent over the last decade. With clean energy prices decreasing, American Electric Power last month decided to increase its investment in wind due to the substantial savings it would provide to their customers. Companies like Xcel Energy in Colorado, which will triple the amount of solar and wind that it's bringing online, are also increasingly investing in renewable energy solutions as a result of falling prices.
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