March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. power companies expect to retire or convert from coal to gas more than 8,000 megawatts of coal-fired plants in 2017 after shutting almost 13,000 MW in 2016, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and Thomson Reuters data.
In 2015, power companies shut more than 17,000 MW of coal-fired generation, the most in any year. U.S. coal power capacity peaked around 318,000 MW in 2011, according to EIA data. It has declined every year since and was expected to fall to around 259,000 MW by the end of 2017. The total generating capacity in the United States - including coal, natural gas, renewables and nuclear - was almost 1.1 million MW in 2015, the most recent year for which data is available.
Cheap natural gas from record shale production over the past decade has kept power prices low, making it uneconomic for generators to upgrade their older coal plants to meet increasingly strict federal and state environmental rules. Coal had been the primary fuel source for U.S. power plants for the last century, but its use has been declining since peaking in 2007. That was around the same time drillers started pulling gas out of shale formations.
In fact, gas overtook coal as the leading fuel for power generators in 2016 when coal used to produce electricity fell to its lowest level since 1982, according to federal energy data. In 2016 coal-fired generators produced 30 percent of the nation's total generation, down from over 50 percent in 2003. Gas, meanwhile, fueled about 34 percent in its biggest year ever for U.S. power production. It takes roughly 175 million cubic feet of gas per day to generate about 1,000 MW, which can power about 1 million homes.
The following lists the U.S. coal plants expected to shut or be converted to other fuels over the next decade or so. *Indicates changes to list PLANTS TO BE SHUT Owner Plant Name Unit Size State Retire Month Coal-to-Gas (MW) * TVA Paradise 1 628 KY 2017 4 * TVA Paradise 2 602 KY 2017 4 Grand River GREC 1 482 OK 2017 4 Dominion Yorktown 1 159 VA 2017 4 Dominion Yorktown 2 164 VA 2017 4 Great River Energy Stanton 1 189 ND 2017 5 Rockland Capital B L England 2 155 NJ 2017 5 x EquiPower Brayton Point 1 244 MA 2017 6 EquiPower Brayton Point 2 244 MA 2017 6 EquiPower Brayton Point 3 612 MA 2017 6 * PSEG Hudson 2 620 NJ 2017 6 * PSEG Mercer 1 316 NJ 2017 6 * PSEG Mercer 2 316 NJ 2017 6 * AEP Kanawha River 1 200 WV 2017 12 * AEP Kanawha River 2 200 WV 2017 12 Berkshire - NV Energy Reid Gardner 4 255 NV 2017 12 Xcel Valmont 5 186 CO 2017 12 PNM San Juan 2 320 NM 2017 12 PNM San Juan 3 495 NM 2017 12 TVA Johnsonville 1 107 TN 2017 12 TVA Johnsonville 2 107 TN 2017 12 TVA Johnsonville 3 107 TN 2017 12 TVA Johnsonville 4 107 TN 2017 12 NextEra Cedar Bay 1 250 FL 2017 12 AES Beaver Valley 1 32 PA 2017 x Xcel Hayden 1 184 CO 2017 Duke Miami Fort 6 163 OH 2017 Dynegy Newton 2 600 IL 2017 OPPD North Omaha 3 108 NE 2017 OPPD North Omaha 1 79 NE 2017 Duke Crystal River 1 375 FL 2018 4 Duke Crystal River 2 498 FL 2018 4 * AES - DPL Killen ... 2 600 OH 2018 6 * AES - DPL Stuart ... 1 577 OH 2018 6 * AES - DPL Stuart ... 2 577 OH 2018 6 * AES - DPL Stuart ... 3 577 OH 2018 6 * AES - DPL Stuart ... 4 577 OH 2018 6 Dynegy Baldwin 1 576 IL 2018 9 CPS Energy J T Deely 1 435 TX 2018 12 CPS Energy J T Deely 2 436 TX 2018 12 NRG Will County 4 510 IL 2018 12 Alliant Edgewater 4 308 WI 2018 12 TVA Allen 1 247 TN 2018 TVA Allen 2 247 TN 2018 TVA Allen 3 247 TN 2018 Xcel Cherokee 4 352 CO 2018 x NextEra Indiantown 1 330 FL 2018 NRG Dunkirk 1 75 NY 2016 NRG Dunkirk 2 75 NY 2016 x NRG Dunkirk 3 185 NY 2016 x NRG Dunkirk 4 185 NY 2016 x NRG Chalk Point 1 337 MD 2019 5 NRG Chalk Point 2 341 MD 2019 5 Duke Asheville 1 191 NC 2019 11 Duke Asheville 2 185 NC 2019 11 Great Plains Energy Sibley 1 48 MO 2019 12 Great Plains Energy Sibley 2 51 MO 2019 12 * Owensboro Municipal Elmer Smith 1 138 KY 2019 Utilities Berkshire - NV Energy North Valmy 2 268 NV 2019 OGE Muuskogee unit 500 OK 2019 x OGE Muuskogee unit 500 OK 2019 x * Salt River Project Navajo 1 750 AZ 2019 * Salt River Project Navajo 2 750 AZ 2019 * Salt River Project Navajo 3 750 AZ 2019 Wisconsin Energy Presque Isle 5 88 MI 2020 1 Wisconsin Energy Presque Isle 6 88 MI 2020 1 Wisconsin Energy Presque Isle 7 77 MI 2020 1 Wisconsin Energy Presque Isle 8 77 MI 2020 1 Wisconsin Energy Presque Isle 9 77 MI 2020 1 NRG Dickerson 1 182 MD 2020 5 NRG Dickerson 2 182 MD 2020 5 NRG Dickerson 3 182 MD 2020 5 Raven Crane 1 190 MD 2020 6 Raven Crane 2 195 MD 2020 6 Raven Wagner 2 118 MD 2020 6 FirstEnergy Sammis 1 180 OH 2020 5 FirstEnergy Sammis 1 180 OH 2020 5 FirstEnergy Sammis 1 180 OH 2020 5 FirstEnergy Sammis 1 180 OH 2020 5 TransAlta Centralia 1 688 WA 2020 12 Allete Taconite 1 79 MN 2020 Allete Taconite 2 76 MN 2020 Portland General Boardman 1 585 OR 2021 1 * Otter Tail Hoot Lake 2 58 MN 2021 6 * Otter Tail Hoot Lake 3 80 MN 2021 6 Great Plains Energy Lake Road 4 96 MO 2021 12 Great Plains Energy Montrose 2 164 MO 2021 12 Great Plains Energy Montrose 3 176 MO 2021 12 Berkshire - NV Energy North Valmy 1 254 NV 2021 12 PSEG Bridgewater 3 383 CT 2021 AES AES Hawaii 1 180 HI 2022 9 * Xcel Sherburne 2 682 MN 2022 12 Talen Colstrip 1 307 MT 2022 Talen Colstrip 2 307 MT 2022 Ameren Meramec 1 119 MO 2022 x Ameren Meramec 2 121 MO 2022 x Ameren Meramec 3 261 MO 2022 Ameren Meramec 4 335 MO 2022 * Tri-State G & T Nucla 1 12 CO 2022 * Tri-State G & T Nucla 2 12 CO 2022 * Tri-State G & T Nucla 3 12 CO 2022 * Tri-State G & T Nucla 4 64 CO 2022 OPPD North Omaha 4 138 NE 2023 x OPPD North Omaha 5 205 NE 2023 x * Owensboro Municipal Elmer Smith 2 261 KY 2023 Utilities DTE River Rouge 3 272 MI 2020-23 DTE St Clair 1 151 MI 2020-23 DTE St Clair 2 154 MI 2020-23 DTE St Clair 3 160 MI 2020-23 DTE St Clair 4 151 MI 2020-23 DTE St Clair 6 311 MI 2020-23 DTE St Clair 7 440 MI 2020-23 DTE Trenton 9 520 MI 2020-23 * Tri-State G & T Craig 1 428 CO 2025 APS Cholla 1 116 AZ 2025 APS Cholla 3 271 AZ 2025 Intermountain Intermountain 1 900 UT 2025 Intermountain Intermountain 2 900 UT 2025 * Xcel Sherburne 1 680 MN 2025 12 TransAlta Centralia 2 670 WA 2025 12 AEP Northeastern 3 460 OK 2026 Scana McMeekin 1 125 SC 2028 12 Scana McMeekin 2 125 SC 2028 12 AEP Conesville 5 444 OH 2029 AEP Conesville 6 444 OH 2029 AEP Cardinal 1 615 OH 2030 Ameren Sioux 1 483 MO 2033 Ameren Sioux 2 483 MO 2033 (Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
