According to the report of quartz financial website on November 16, the two largest coal power stations in the United States were closed this month.
Recently, the Navajo power station in 2.25 GW, Arizona, USA, burned the last batch of coal, and no buyer has appeared in two years, the report said. According to the U.S. public utility news network, the fate of the financially troubled power station has been determined after an attempt to force an Arizona water agency to purchase electricity failed. The Navajo power station emits about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, equivalent to 3.3 million cars. It is one of the largest closed power stations in the tide of power station failures in a year.
The report also said the closed second home appliance station was Bruce Mansfield power station in 2.7 gigawatts, Pennsylvania. The bankrupt owner of the plant shut down on November 7, almost two years earlier than the scheduled time. It is the largest coal power station in the state and has been in operation for 40 years.
The closure of power stations is not about the rules of climate, but about the economic situation, the report said. "Once all the old and inefficient power stations have been cleaned up, it's natural to plan larger ones, which will have a greater impact on the climate," John Larsen, head of power sector analysis at Rongding consulting, an economic consulting firm, told Science American
In 2007, MIT announced research reports such as "the future of coal" that "in any foreseeable scenario, coal consumption will increase because of its low price and sufficient supply". But the cost of coal is no longer so low. Now, natural gas prices are lower than Appalachian coal (although still higher than some coal mines in the western United States), while renewable energy (such as solar and wind) costs less than everyone expected.
According to the U.S. energy information administration, the U.S. coal industry - hit by falling demand for electricity, customers' love for low-carbon energy, and competition from solar, wind and natural gas - has seen domestic consumption plummet since 2000. Since 2010, global coal consumption has declined by 2%.
But even if the trend continues, the coal industry will not disappear, the report said. Coal power plants, many of which are located in places like Georgia and Indiana, that still exist in the United States, have a number of advantages, ranging from large planning (a third of which is larger than closed power plants this month) to relatively recent new planning.
