evidence: Coal power took a big step toward the exit last year in the United States, as plants continue to close and the ones that remain are being used less than before. [...] - Coal-fired power plants generated 16.2 percent of the country’s electricity in 2023, a decrease from 19.7 percent in the prior year and down about half from a decade ago, according to the Energy Information Administration. The decline was largely due to utilities and grid operators relying more on natural gas power plants, which are much cheaper to build and operate than coal plants. The growth of renewable energy also contributed to coal’s retreat, but not nearly as much as the growth of gas. - The number of coal plants is continuing to fall. The country had 184 gigawatts of capacity of coal-fired power plants in 2023, down 6.4 percent from the prior year, according to EIA. One example is the 1,490-megawatt W.H. Sammis plant in northeast Ohio, which closed after years in which its owner, Energy Harbor, and the previous owner, FirstEnergy, let it sit idle most of the time.