U.S. coal fired power plant closure announcements in 2019

of coal power plant capacity, across 20 units in 12 plants, will over time, be shuttered or transition to alternate fuel sources, based on decisions announced so far this year.

Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors voted to close the 1,150 MW Unit 3 of its Paradise Fossil Plant by Unit 3 by December 2020. The plant is located in Muhlenberg County in western Kentucky and employs around 140 people. TVA characterized the plant as falling under a category which: "With less need for base load resources, assets that have relatively high projected future maintenance cost and environmental compliance expenditures, high forced outage rates and poor generation portfolio fit are now the focus of more detailed study for potential retirement."

Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors voted to close the 881 MW Bull Run Fossil Plant by December 2023. The plant is located on Bull Run Creek near Oak Ridge, Tennessee and employs around ? people. TVA characterized the plant as falling under a category which: "With less need for base load resources, assets that have relatively high projected future maintenance cost and environmental compliance expenditures, high forced outage rates and poor generation portfolio fit are now the focus of more detailed study for potential retirement."

Alabama Power Company announced it will retire all 3 units of its 1 GW William Crawford Gorgas Electric Generating Plant in Walker County, which has operated on the banks of the Black Warrior River since 1917. The utility said it would require about $300 million to comply with federal protections regulating the management of coal ash and safeguarding groundwater. Alabama Power spokesman Michael Sznajderman said that approximately 180 people are currently employed at Plant Gorgas, and that no layoffs are expected. The plant is expected to be shutdown by Apr 2019.

Mining company Rio Tinto Kennecott announced the retirement of a 4-unit 175 MW Utah Power Plant located in Magna, Utah. A captive power plant, it powered operations of the Kennecott copper mine for nearly 75 years. Pending regulatory approval, the company will switch to renewable sources. The plant retirement and acquisition of renewable energy certificates will remove more than 1 million tons of CO2 from Kennecott’s Wasatch Front operations and reduce its annual carbon footprint by as much as 65 percent.

Lakeland Electric announced its plans to shutdown C.D. McIntosh 363 MW Unit 3 no later than fall 2024 at a utility committee meeting. It’s a matter of economics, according to Mike Beckham, LE’s assistant general manager of production. “It is increasingly costly in terms of safety, environmentally and its reliability,” Beckham said. “We expect that trend will continue and increase each year.” The city-owned utility has calculated that running the aging coal-powered generator costs about $20 more per MWh than utilizing the natural gas-fired Unit 5.

Talen Montana, the operator of the Colstrip Steam Electric Station announced that, effective 31 Dec, Units 1 and 2, with combined capacity of 614 MW, will be permanently retired. Other two units, 3 and 4, will remain in operation. Inability to negotiate lower fuel prices with Westmoreland Rosebud Mining will lead to the units becoming economically unviable. Talen Montana will look to redeploy affected Colstrip employees to work on Unit 1 and 2 retirement activities or the operation and maintenance of Units 3 and 4.

Texas Municipal Power Agency (TMPA) comprising the cities of Bryan, Garland, Denton, and Greenville notified the state's grid operator ERCOT that the 470 MW Gibbons Creek Generation Station will be permanently retired on 23 Oct 2019. The coal plant itself has been in a rapid decline as it simply could not compete with dropping wholesale prices and had been mothballed for sometime.

American Electric Power announced plans to shut the 1,300 MW Unit 1 of its Rockport Plant in Indiana by the end of 2028. The plant is located about 35 miles east of Evansville, Indiana, along the Ohio River.

Vistra Energy announced closure of Unit 1 and Unit 2 of its Coffeen Power Station located south of Coffeen, Illinois near Coffeen Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area in Montgomery County, Illinois. The combined capacity impacted will be 915 MW with around 95 jobs lost. The plant is expected to close later this year. Over a period of 54 years, according to a 2014 Dynegy (previous owner) study, the plant contributed an estimated $79 million in household earnings in Montgomery and surrounding counties, and an estimated $389 million in total economic activity.

Vistra Energy announced closure of its 441 MW Duck Creek Power Station in Canton, IL. Around 60 jobs will be lost. The plant is expected to close later this year. Vistra said the closures are to meet the requirements of the recently approved revisions to the multi-pollutant standard rule imposed by the Illinois Pollution Control Board but also admitted the plant was at risk of near imminent retirement.

Vistra Energy announced closure of its 294 MW Hennepin Power Station located in Hennepin, Putnam County, IL. Around 60 jobs will be lost. The plant was officially shuttered on 01 Nov 2019. Vistra said the closures are to meet the requirements of the recently approved revisions to the multi-pollutant standard rule imposed by the Illinois Pollution Control Board but also admitted the plant was at risk of near imminent retirement.

Vistra announced an agreement to shutter the E.D. Edwards power plant in Bartonville, south of Peoria, by the end of 2022. Unit 2 (281 MW) and Unit 3 (364 MW) will be closed and about 70 jobs will be lost. Vistra agreed to spend $8.6 million on job training and community projects as part of the settlement. The closure will eliminate CO2 emissions equivalent to taking more than 337,000 cars off the road. A federal judge approved the settlement on 13 Nov 2019.