Friday, November 15, 2013

Coal's 2013 Rebound Falters: TVA Closes 8 Coal Plants In Kentucky and Alabama

In another sign that the coal-fired generation rebound in 2013 will end soon, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced it will close 8 coal-fired power plants. TVA states that 2 of the 8 plants will be replaced by natural gas generation. TVA also continues to build a long-delayed nuke.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tva-close-coal-powered-units-ala-ky-20890260.

The TVA currently generates 38% of its power from coal, which is almost identical to the portion that coal provides of America's electricity.  The TVA currently generates just 8% of its electricity from natural gas, while gas provides about 27% of America's power.

The TVA generates also a substantial amount of power--32%--from nuclear power. While TVA plans to decrease its reliance on coal, it expects to increase its electricity from nuclear plants as well as gas.

The TVA coal closures follow Duke Energy's similar closings in North Carolina and remind that coal's 2013 rebound in generation market share from a low of 37% for 2012 will end soon.

No comments:

Post a Comment