With concern over emissions growing, many companies in the U.S. are shutting down their coal power plants and replacing them with cleaner, more cost-efficient plants.
One company in Columbus, Ohio, shut down 10 coal-fired plants this May, and plans to shut down two more next year.
Another company, operating in the Western U.S., shut down two plants in April and has plans to discontinue 3,000 megawatts of coal power by 2029. Naturally, the company will end up replacing the lost wattage with renewable power.
Yet another company in North Dakota is switching its plants to natural gas to help lower emissions and comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations.
But it’s not just the U.S. that is cutting out coal…
Many industrialized countries are taking clean air to heart. Canada and the U.K. are creating new policies to phase out coal. And that’s not to mention the fact that France, Italy, and Germany have weak markets for the dirty fuel, France having reduced their total coal-fired plant count to 4 this year.
Only Japan has increased their use of coal recently, and that decision was made because the Fukushima nuclear disaster compelled them to cut nuclear power out completely. Yet, even this may not be enough to save coal power, as a previous report noted that natural gas will be picking up the majority of the slack.
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