Since President Donald Trump signed several executive orders on Tuesday, the purpose of keeping coal power in the United States, it repeatedly blamed its predecessors, Democrats and Environmental Regulations for the dramatic contraction of the industry over the past two decades.
But across the country, state and local officials and electric grid operators are facing an element of coal death that is not easily focused with the pen stroke: cost.
For example, Maryland’s only remaining coal -fired station, 1.3 GW of the Energy Brandon Shower Plant, will be open under it on June 1, under it, A contract The regional grid operator PJM broke the company, state officials and Sierra Club earlier this year.
Tailon decided to close the plant two years ago because it had decided that running the plant was non -economic. But the PJM said the plant was necessary to maintain the grid’s reliability. While the Brandon Coast is open to strengthen the additional transmission grid, Maryland rate pears will be forced to pay around $ 1 billion.
“There are some people who say that Brandon Shores were retiring due to Maryland’s climate policy,” David Loop says, guiding the Maryland Office of People’s Council, who The contract fought On behalf of the payers. “But it was a complete decision of a generation company working in the free market.”
Natural gas and renewable energy cheaper power has been reducing coal use in the United States for almost 20 years. Coal plants now provide about 15 % of the country’s electricity, which was less than 50 % in 2000.
In some cases, state and local officials have raised concerns about whether the loss of coal plants will put the grid at risk of blackout. According to the US Energy Information Administration, in Utah, for example, in Utah, the Western Desert of Utah, according to the US Energy Information Administration, 1,800 MW of the Interimonal Power Agency’s 1,800 MW coal is the largest US coal plant this year. The IPA is moving forward with its plan to convert natural gas plants that can be made cleaner operating using hydrogen fuel. Under a new law, IPA coal plants will be closed in a state where it can be easily resumed, IPA spokesman John Ward said. The Utah legislature voted in favor of a new process last month in which the state of Utah will find new customers and potentially a new operator so that the coal plant can operate.