The largest coal-fired power plant in the US state of Pennsylvania will be shut down by July to be replaced with cleaner and more efficient power plants, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, citing the plant’s owner.
Providing power to Pennsylvania and New York for 54 years, the Homer City coal plant has contracted from 313 gigawatts (GW) in 2005 to around 196 GW.
Currently seeking approval for retirement from the regional grid manager, PJM, the 1,888-megawatt coal plant began generating electricity in 1969, when units 1 and 2 entered service, followed by unit 3 in 1977.
Coal plants have been struggling to effectively compete in competitive US power markets against newer, more efficient natural gas-fired and combined-cycle power plants.
The plant was built near coal reserves and included what was then a high-capacity (345 kilovolt) transmission line to service areas in western New York and eastern Pennsylvania for 30 years with near 90% capacity, according to EIA data.
The Homer City plant was sold for $1.8 billion in 1999, when coal-fired generation accounted for about 53% of the nation’s power supply and natural gas only accounted for about 12%.
However, natural gas is now the source of 40% of the electricity in the US, and coal has dropped to 20%.
Rising costs driven by changing regulations to control pollution as well as the reduction in the cost-effectiveness of the plant contributed to the decision to retire the plant.
By Duygu Alhan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr