Our new findings, published in Electricity Journal, show that nearly 59 gigawatts (GW) of coal power capacity are not cost competitive when compared with natural gas, and more than 71 GW are uneconomic when compared with wind power. In short, we estimated a coal generator’s operating cost—after being upgraded with modern pollution controls—and compared it with the average cost to generate electricity from several alternatives, including existing and new natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plants and new wind power facilities. If the coal generator’s costs were more expensive, then it failed our test and was deemed ripe for retirement.

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