The United States had 589 coal-fired plants 10 years ago, and “we're down to 504. … We are the only nation that has reduced our reliance (on) coal energy."
Reductions in coal consumption have been driven in large part by non-climate factors, most notably environmental regulations to address air pollution, rapidly declining costs of renewables, and lower natural gas prices, especially inexpensive unconventional gas in the USA. (Culver and Hong 2016; Diluiso et al.2021; Vinichenko et al. 2021). Older coal-fired power plants that cannot meet new environmental regulations, or have become unprofitable or uncompetitive, have been closed in many regions. Moreover, coal power expansion has slowed down in Asia, as countries have suspended and cancelled new projects for reasons such as overcapacity, environmental constraints, and the development of renewables (Box 6.2).