Report: ‘Perfect storm’ sinking coal-fired generation

A perfect storm of lower natural gas prices, new emission rules and weak national demand for electricity is causing many utility companies to ditch coal-fired power generation, according to a new report from Analysis Group, a Boston-based consulting firm. Susan Tierney, managing principal at Analysis Group, tells The Houston Chronicle it’s becoming less expensive to keep coal-fired power plants offline than to keep them running. The reason isn’t entirely because of new EPA emission rules, as the industry has claimed. “In the past year, coal plants have been facing a perfect storm of falling natural gas prices, a continued trend of high coal prices and weak demand for electricity,” Tierney writes in the report, adding that all those factors are making coal a less desirable fuel source. Coal-generated electricity has been waning over the past few years, dropping to its lowest level on record in March of this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. At the same time, natural gas-powered plants are becoming increasingly popular, not only because the price of the fuel has fallen to record lows but also because natural gas releases relatively few emissions. Read the full story here; or take a look at the complete 48-page study here.