Puerto Rico to shut down all coal-burning power plants by 2020
Coal-burning power plants will get the axe in 2020, and all other coal-burning in Puerto Rico will be eliminated by 2028.
No coal
Coal once powered much of the world’s economy — and now countries, cities, and utilities are moving away from it faster than many expected. This archive tracks plant closures, policy shifts, and clean-energy transitions that are shrinking coal’s role in the global energy mix.
74% of U.S. coal production is now more expensive than renewables
211 gigawatts of current US coal capacity, 74% of the coal fleet, is providing electricity that’s more expensive than wind or solar. By 2025, nearly the entire US coal system will be out-competed on cost by renewables.
Finland to ban coal-fired power by 2029
The Finnish Parliament approved a motion last week to bring forward its ban on coal for energy use to May 1, 2029, bringing the country in line with the majority of the European Union in walking away from coal-fired power.
Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants by 2038
Germany, one of the world’s biggest consumers of coal, will shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over the next 19 years to meet its international commitments in the fight against climate change, a government commission said.
E.U. bans almost all coal mining
Every unprofitable coal mine in the European Union must cease production by the first day of 2019, the date on which all public funds for the mines will come to an end.
Coal power plants lose their cost advantage over clean energy
In 2018, 42% of the world’s coal-fired power stations are running at a loss and by 2030, in virtually every case (96%) it will be cheaper to build new renewable energy capacity than to keep coal plants running, according to a new study.
Japan’s Marubeni to halve coal-fired power capacity by 2030
Japan’s Marubeni Corp said it would no longer start new coal-fired power plant projects and will halve its net coal power generating capacity of about 3 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
Lloyds Banking Group halts financing for new coal plants
Banking giant will no longer finance coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines in support of Paris Agreement goals
Royal Bank of Scotland to stop financing new coal plants, oil sands or arctic oil projects
RBS said it would no longer directly finance new coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines, oil sands or Arctic oil projects and unsustainable vegetation or peatland clearance projects.
Premature birth rates drop in California after coal and oil plants shut down, study finds
Within a year of eight coal- and oil-fired power plant retirements, the rate of preterm births in mothers living close by dropped, finds new study on air pollution.