North American Coal-Fired Plants to Remain Significant Sources of Power

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Coal-fired power plants in North America have been in the news lately, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (Washington D.C.) announcing that as much as 60 gigawatts (GW) of coal-derived power will be retired by 2020.

Although coal-fired power generation will drop between 25% and 30% by 2030, according to estimates by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coal will continue to provide a significant amount of electricity for North American homes and businesses well into the future.

Older coal-fired power plants will shut down because of their age and inefficiency, or costly emission requirements, but newer coal-fired plants, which already have retrofitted emission controls, will remain an important source of electrical generation in North America's diversified power mix.

These remaining power plants will need additional equipment and system refurbishments to maximize efficiency and extend their service lives, thereby justifying their financial investments.

Industrial Info is tracking 321 active coal-fired power plant capital projects, worth more than $24 billion in North America, that are scheduled to begin construction between January 2015 and December 2017. These do not include environmental retrofits, fuel conversions and demolitions.

The top three U.S. regions for coal-fired power plant projects include the Great Lakes, with 71 projects regions valued at more than $7.3 billion; the Southeast, with 36 projects valued at more than $4 billion; and the Midwest, with 59 projects valued at more than $4 billion.

For related information, see November 12, 2014, article - Carbon Capture Poised for Global Rollout; November 10, 2014, article - US Coal Industry's Uncertain American Future, Part Two: Natural Gas and International Demand for Coal; and October 29, 2014, article - Coal Industry's Uncertain American Future, Part One: Politics and Environmental Law.

Industrial Info tracks numerous capital projects, including boiler and turbine refurbishments, generator rewinds, turbine uprates, distributed control system upgrades and coal-handling system upgrades.

The first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in North America recently began operations at SaskPower's (Regina, Saskatchewan) Boundary Dam Power Plant near Estevan, Saskatchewan, and construction has started on another: NRG Energy's (NYSE:NRG) (Houston, Texas) WA Parish power generating station near Thompsons, Texas.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.