The odds are stacked against Texas’ coal-fired power plants, according to a report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “Fundamental changes in the Texas electricity market are putting coal-fired power plants under increasing economic and financial stress and the industry today is under siege from a number of challenges,” the report says.
Low-cost natural gas and the declining cost of electricity generation at natural gas power plants, growing wind and solar photovoltaic power industries, reduced generation at coal-fired power plants, and new public health and environmental regulations are the writing on the wall for coal-fired energy generation, according to the report.
The institute examined the financial viability of seven of the coal plants in Texas and determined that “none of the units is financially viable, as none can be expected to produce substantial pre-tax earnings for their owners or be economic for ratepayers in coming years. Indeed, all but one of the plants can be expected to produce pre-tax losses for their owners in coming years.”
It’s time to accept the fate of the industry in Texas, the report says. The institute recommended that policymakers in Texas focus on how to end use of the coal-fired facilities, how they can be replaced, and retraining workers who are likely to lose their jobs.
