Existing U.S. Coal Plants
| This article is part of the Global Energy Monitor coverage of coal plants |
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To see a list of coal-fired power plants in the United States, click here. To see a listing of coal plants in a particular state, click on the map:
Overview of coal power in the U.S.
In 2024, coal plants in the United States generated 652,760 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity, or 15.2% of total U.S. electricity production.[1] (One GWh is the amount of power produced by a 1,000 megawatt power plant running for one hour.) During the peak year of coal's contribution to U.S. power production, in 1988, coal generated 57.0% of U.S. power.[2] Coal’s share in power production has fallen due to increases in generation from fossil gas, wind, and solar.
As of 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) listed 227 coal-fired power plants in the U.S., down from 518 coal-fired power plants in 2013. Of these 227 plants, 148 were owned by electric utilities, 43 by independent power producers, and the remainder by industrial and commercial producers of combined heat and power.[3]
In 2023, U.S. coal plants provided 178,442 megawatts (MW) of net summer capacity.[4]
The coal fleet’s average capacity factor (the ratio of a plant’s actual output to its theoretical maximum output if it ran continuously) has also been largely declining, from 59.4% in 2013 to 42.4% in 2023.[5]
Annual U.S. coal-fired power plant capacity, generation, and capacity factor[6][7][5]
| Year | Net summer capacity (GW) | Generation (GWh) | Capacity factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 303.3 | 1,581,115 | 59.4% |
| 2014 | 299.1 | 1,581,710 | 60.5% |
| 2015 | 279.7 | 1,352,398 | 54.3% |
| 2016 | 266.6 | 1,239,149 | 52.8% |
| 2017 | 256.5 | 1,205,835 | 53.1% |
| 2018 | 242.8 | 1,149,487 | 53.6% |
| 2019 | 228.7 | 964,957 | 47.5% |
| 2020 | 215.6 | 773,393 | 40.5% |
| 2021 | 209.8 | 897,999 | 49.1% |
| 2022 | 189.3 | 831,512 | 48.4% |
| 2023 | 178.4 | 675,115 | 42.4% |
| 2024 | 173.9 | 652,760 |
For more information on coal plant capacity and generation, see Coal-fired power plant capacity and generation.
U.S. coal-fired power production in the global context
In 2024, the U.S. generated approximately 652,760 GWh (gigawatt hours) of electricity from coal, accounting for 6.2% of the world's coal-fired electricity that year:[8]
| Country | 2024 coal power generation (GWh) | % of 2024 world total |
|---|---|---|
| China | 5,827,600 | 55.3% |
| India | 1,517,900 | 14.4% |
| United States | 652,760 | 6.2% |
| Japan | 327,130 | 3.1% |
| Russia | 215,170 | 2.0% |
| South Africa | 206,810 | 2.0% |
| Korea | 190,780 | 1.8% |
| Vietnam | 152,770 | 1.4% |
| Australia | 127,330 | 1.2% |
| Türkiye | 121,310 | 1.2% |
| World total | 10,541,000 |
State-by-state output
Below is a sortable table of U.S. states and the total amount of electricity each state produced from coal in 2014 and 2024. To sort the table, click on a column header.[9]
| State | 2014 coal generation (GWh) | 2024 coal generation (GWh) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 148,174 | 65,545 | -55.8 |
| Ohio | 89,879 | 30,080 | -66.5 |
| Indiana | 97,549 | 40,526 | -58.5 |
| Pennsylvania | 78,986 | 13,042 | -83.5 |
| Kentucky | 83,602 | 44,829 | -46.4 |
| Illinois | 87,282 | 26,965 | -69.1 |
| Missouri | 72,409 | 38,832 | -46.4 |
| West Virginia | 77,515 | 43,098 | -44.4 |
| Georgia | 45,295 | 17,837 | -60.6 |
| North Carolina | 49,238 | 17,079 | -65.3 |
| Michigan | 52,900 | 25,738 | -51.3 |
| Alabama | 47,302 | 20,936 | -55.7 |
| Florida | 52,054 | 7,846 | -84.9 |
| Arizona | 42,665 | 9,815 | -77.0 |
| Wyoming | 43,409 | 24,382 | -43.8 |
| Tennessee | 35,875 | 17,435 | -51.4 |
| Wisconsin | 37,449 | 20,763 | -44.6 |
| Iowa | 33,733 | 14,464 | -57.1 |
| Oklahoma | 29,906 | 6,135 | -79.5 |
| South Carolina | 28,914 | 16,842 | -41.8 |
| Colorado | 32,545 | 16,478 | -49.4 |
| Utah | 33,377 | 15,967 | -52.2 |
| Kansas | 28,752 | 13,079 | -54.5 |
| Arkansas | 33,221 | 15,660 | -52.9 |
| Minnesota | 27,957 | 11,430 | -59.1 |
| New Mexico | 20,356 | 8,432 | -58.6 |
| North Dakota | 27,394 | 23,183 | -15.4 |
| Nebraska | 24,922 | 16,352 | -34.4 |
| Louisiana | 19,221 | 3,700 | -80.8 |
| Maryland | 17,603 | 2,466 | -86.0 |
| Virginia | 20,819 | 1,972 | -90.5 |
| Montana | 15,579 | 9,785 | -37.2 |
| Mississippi | 10,743 | 3,334 | -69.0 |
| New York | 4,592 | 0 | -100.0 |
| Nevada | 6,548 | 2,323 | -64.5 |
| Washington state | 6,720 | 2,847 | -57.6 |
| New Jersey | 2,519 | 0 | -100.0 |
| Massachusetts | 2,795 | 0 | -100.0 |
| Oregon | 3,193 | 0 | -100.0 |
| South Dakota | 2,689 | 1,563 | -41.9 |
| New Hampshire | 1,311 | 224 | -82.9 |
| California | 805 | 246 | -69.5 |
| Delaware | 865 | 144 | -83.4 |
| Hawaii | 1,511 | 0 | -100.0 |
| Alaska | 558 | 752 | 34.8 |
| Connecticut | 825 | 0 | -100.0 |
| Idaho | 78 | 0 | -100.0 |
| Maine | 79 | 29 | -62.9 |
| Rhode Island | - | - | 0% |
| Vermont | - | - | 0% |
| District of Columbia | - | - | 0% |
Plant retirements and conversions
According to Global Coal Plant Tracker summary data from July 2025, 170.1 GW of coal power in the U.S. has been retired since 2000. In 2024, just 4.7 GW of U.S. coal capacity was retired or converted to another fuel in, a ten-year low since the Paris Agreement in 2015. However, over the coming decade, U.S. utilities are slated to retire 100.4 GW of coal capacity.
Visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker’s Coal Phaseout Tool to explore a map of retirement plans for coal plants in the U.S. (and other countries).
Age of coal plants in the U.S.
According to the Global Coal Plant Tracker, as of July 2025, more than three quarters of the operating coal power capacity in the U.S. was at least 40 years old. Globally, the average coal plant retirement age is 37 years.
Emissions from U.S. coal plants
In 2022, CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels for electric power in the U.S. totaled 1,531.3 million tons of CO2-equivalents (Mt CO2eq). Coal-fired power plants produced 851.5 Mt CO2eq, or 56%, of those emissions, down from 1,982.8 Mt CO2eq from coal power in 2005. Globally, CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion totaled 33,500 Mt CO2eq in 2022.[10]
Cost of electricity from existing coal plants
As of July, 2008, the average cost of coal supplied to existing coal plants in the United States was $2.09 per million BTU.[11] At 34.3% efficiency for a typical coal plant, that translates to 2.08 cents per kilowatt hour for coal.[12] Operation and maintenance is approximately 0.75 cents per kilowatt hour.[13] So total fuel and operating costs for a typical coal plant is 2.83 cents per kilowatt hour. Since the median age of existing coal plants is 44 years, most are already fully amortized. That means their owners have fully paid off the construction costs, and operating and fuel costs are the only components of cost.
For more on the financial risks of coal energy investment, see Financial Risks of Coal Energy Investment.
External costs of existing coal plants
In economics, an external cost or externality is a negative effect of an economic activity on a third party.External costs of coal plants include the following:[14]
- Reduction in life expectancy (particulates, sulfur dioxide, ozone, heavy metal, benzene, radionuclides, etc.)
- Respiratory hospital admissions (particulates, ozone, sulfur dioxide)
- Congrestive heart failure (particulates and carbon monoxide)
- Non-fatal cancer, osteroporosia, ataxia, renal dysfunction (benzene, radionuclines, heavy metal, etc.)
- Chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, etc. (particulates, ozone)
- Loss of IQ (mercury)
- Degradation and soiling of buildings (sulfur dioxide, acid deposition, particulates)
- Reduction of crop yields (NOx, sulfur dioxide, ozone, acid deposition); some emissions may also have a fertilizing effect (nitrogen and sulfur deposition)
- Global warming (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide)
- Ecosystem loss and degradation
Among the impacts of coal plants are the fine particulates released directly or produced indirectly by sulfur dioxide emissions.[15] According to a 2004 study released by the Clean Air Task Force, fine particulates from power plants result in nearly 24,000 annual deaths, with 14 years lost on average for each death.[15] Based on social decisions in other contexts such as transportation and medicine, researchers report (see below) that American society is willing to spend $129,090 to avoid the loss of a year of life.[16] This suggests that society would be willing to spend at an additional $40 billion (i.e., 24,000 annual deaths x 14 years lost x $129,000 per year lost) for alternative ways of generating electricity that did not produce deadly pollution. With US coal plants generating about 2 billion Gigawatt hours annually, the expenditure of an additional $40 billion would raise the cost of electricity by about two cents per kilowatt hour.[17]
For more on the external costs of coal, see External costs of coal.
Retrofitting existing coal plants for carbon capture
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, it is not economical to retrofit existing coal plants with carbon capture technology:
- Existing CO2 capture technologies are not cost-effective when considered in the context of large power plants. Economic studies indicate that carbon capture will add over 30 percent to the cost of electricity for new integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) units and over 80 percent to the cost of electricity if retrofitted to existing pulverized coal (PC) units. A recent study from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) confirms that additional alternatives need to be pursued to bring the cost of carbon capture down. In addition, the net electricity produced from existing plants would be significantly reduced - often referred to as parasitic loss - since 20 to 30 percent of the power generated by the plant would have to be used to capture and compress the CO2.[18]
SO2 pollution and pollution controls
In 1970, the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which regulated the emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2), among other forms of pollution. SO2 contributes strongly to acid rain, and causes or exacerbates respiratory illnesses. However, the legislation allowed for exemptions for older power plants. This legislation has been strengthened since then: in 1977, the New Source Review increased compliance by states, while the EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule, passed in 2005, requires a 57% cut in U.S. SO2 emissions by 2015. (Roughly 60% of U.S. SO2 emissions come from coal-fired power plants.) Especially since 2005, many utilities have begun attaching SO2 scrubbers to their coal-fired generating stations. However, many plants still do not have adequate - or even any - SO2 controls.[19][20][21]
According to data from the Energy Information Administration, the following proportions of coal-fired power plants with capacity over 100 MW had SO2 scrubbers in 2005:[22]
| SO2 Removal Rate | # of Plants | Total Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Over 90% | 94 | 46,734 MW |
| 80-89% | 49 | 21,613 MW |
| 70-79% | 52 | 20,950 MW |
| 16-69% | 11 | 3,825 MW |
| None | 628 | 220,664 MW |
It is possible that some coal-fired plants with SO2 scrubbers did not report their scrubbers to the EIA, and thus that the above table overstates the number of plants without SO2 controls. However, out of 257 U.S. coal-fired power plants which produced more than 2,000 GWh of power in 2006, 86 had SO2 emissions that were higher than 10 lb/MWh – compared with an average of 1 lb/MWh for coal plants with state-of-the-art SO2 scrubbers.[23][24] We can surmise that these 86 plants almost certainly have zero or extremely minimal SO2 scrubbers, or have SO2 scrubbers that were not functioning in 2006.
A more recent survey (June 2008) of coal-fired power plants conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency found that 209,000 MW out of 329,000 MW of capacity, or 63.5%, had no scrubbers. Of the 120,000 MW fitted with scrubbers, 104,000 MW represented wet fluidized gas disposal systems and 16,200 MW represented dry fluidized gas disposal systems.[25]
The following table summarizes the findings of the EPA survey (June 2008):[25]
| Scrubber Status (2008) | Plants Without Scrubbers | Plants With Scrubbers | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Plants | 351 | 146 | 497 |
| Number of Generating Units | 990 | 290 | 1,280 |
| Capacity (MW) | 209,000 | 120,000 | 329,000 |
In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency released projections about future scrubber systems at coal-fired power plants. The following table shows the EPA's projections for scrubbers in 2009 and 2010. The reason that the total capacity represented by these figures is lower than the figures shown above (316,000 MW in 2009 and 318,000 MW in 2010, compared to the 329,000 MW shown above for of capacity survey in 2008), is that these figures are based on a database that uses summer and winter capacity rather than nameplate capacity. [25]
| Scrubber Status | Capacity Without Scrubbers (MW) | Capacity With Scrubbers (MW) | Total Capacity (MW) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 (projected) | 159,000 | 157,000 | 316,000 |
| 2010 (projected) | 134,000 | 184,000 | 318,000 |
The following table summarizes the data from EPA's 2008 survey and 2009/2010 projections:
| Year | Percent of Coal Capacity with Scrubbers |
|---|---|
| 2008 (actual) | 36% |
| 2009 (projected) | 50% |
| 2010 (projected) | 58% |
Data sources on existing coal plants
- Electric Power Annual - U.S. Energy Information Administration: The EIA's annual reports on the electric power sector providing summary statistics on capacity, generation, fuel consumption, fuel cost, loads, electricity prices, plant capacity factors, heat rates, sales, revenues, and other characteristics of the U.S. coal fleet.
- All Reports & Publications - U.S. Energy Information Administration: This EIA page allows users to search for reports on energy by fuel type and by topic.
- Electricity Data Files - U.S. Energy Information Administration: This page provides links to statistics for individual generating units.
Resources
References
- ↑ "Table 1.1: Net Generation by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors)," U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed September 2025
- ↑ "Table 8.2b Electricity Net Generation: Electric Power Sector, 1949-2011," U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed September 2025
- ↑ "Table 4.1. Count of Electric Power Industry Power Plants, by Sector, by Predominant Energy Sources within Plant, 2013 through 2023" U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed September 2025
- ↑ "Table 4.2.A. Existing Net Summer Capacity by Energy Source and Producer Type, 2013 through 2023 (Megawatts)," U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed September 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Table 4.08.A. Capacity Factors for Utility Scale Generators Primarily Using Fossil Fuels," U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed September 2025
- ↑ “Net Generation United States all sectors annual,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed September 2025
- ↑ “8.11a Electric net summer capacity: total (all sectors), 1949–,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, August 2025
- ↑ “Yearly Electricity Data,” Ember, accessed September 2025
- ↑ "EIA-923 Power Plant Operations Report (released: 9/18/2025) - Net Generation by State by Type of Producer by Energy Source (EIA-906, EIA-920, and EIA-923), Date range: 1990 – 2024," U.S. Energy Information Administration, September 2025
- ↑ “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2022, Chapter 3: Energy,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, April 11, 2024
- ↑ "Average Cost of Coal Delivered for Electricity Generation by State," U.S. Energy Information Administration, October 28, 2008
- ↑ The conversion factor is 3413 BTUs per kilowatt hour
- ↑ "The Future of Coal," MIT, Table 3.1, p. 19, 2007
- ↑ "Damages assessed," ExternE website, accessed March 2009
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Conrad G. Schneider, Abt Associates, "Dirty Air, Dirty Power: Mortality and Health Damage Due to Air Pollution from Power Plants," Clean Air Task Force, June 2004 (Synopsis)
- ↑ "Cost-effective Medical Treatment: Putting an Updated Dollar Value on Human Life," Knowledge@Wharton, April 30, 2008
- ↑ Coal-fired power plant capacity and generation
- ↑ "Retrofitting the Existing Coal Fleet with Carbon Capture Technology," U.S. Department of Energy, accessed December 2008
- ↑ A Timeline of the Clean Air Act, Environmental Defense Fund, accessed April 2008.
- ↑ "Utilities amassing landfills: Tougher air standards send tons of plants' sludge, coal ash into ground", Columbus Dispatch, April 14, 2008.
- ↑ Coal Combustion Residues and Mercury Control, EPA Interim Report on the Control of Mercury Admissions from Coal-Fired Electric Boilers, April 2002.
- ↑ Form EIA-767 Database, Energy Information Administration website, 2005.
- ↑ Dirty Kilowatts 2007 Report Database, Environmental Integrity Project, accessed May 2008.
- ↑ Environmental Integrity Project, "Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants", July 2007, p. 8.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 "Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category: 2007/2008 Detailed Study Report," U.S Environmental Protection Agency, August 2008, Table 3-4, page 3-15
Related GEM.wiki Resources
- Campus coal plants
- Climate impacts of coal plants
- Coal
- Coal and jobs in the United States
- Coal and transmission
- Coal-fired power plant capacity and generation
- Coal moratorium
- Coal phase-out
- Coal plant conversion projects
- Coal plant retirements
- Coal plants near residential areas
- Coal waste
- Comparative electrical generation costs
- Dispelling the myths of the acid rain story
- Divestment and shareholder action on coal
- Environmental impacts of coal
- Former coal plants
- Global warming
- Google Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal initiative
- Gore zero-carbon proposal
- Mercury and coal
- Oldest existing coal plants
- Opposition to existing coal plants
- Retrofit vs. Phase-Out of Coal-Fired Power Plants
- Scrubber Retrofits at Existing Coal Plants
- Sulfur dioxide and coal
- United States and coal
- U.S. Coal Capacity by Year
External Links
- Courtney Abrams, "America's Biggest Polluters: Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants in 2007," Environment America Research & Policy Center, November 2009.
- Ted Nace, "Meet the Boomers: What's the best way to phase out the huge fleet of aging coal plants?", Grist, November 11, 2008.
- Ted Nace, "Death of a Thousand Cuts: A Messy But Practical Strategy for Phasing out the U.S. Coal Fleet," Grist, March 20, 2010.
- "Innovations for Existing Power Plants," Department of Energy
- "Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the U.S. - 2006," Natural Resources Defense Council
- "Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category: 2007/2008 Detailed Study Report," U.S Environmental Protection Agency, August 2008
- "Impact of EPA Rules on Power Markets," Credit Suisse, September 23, 2010
- Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool, prepared by Abt Associates for the Clean Air Task Force, July 2010 (state-by-state mortality and morbidity figures - Table 37, page 97)
- Metin Celebi, "Potential Coal Plant Retirements Under Emerging Environmental Regulations" The Brattle Group, December 8, 2010
- "Ensuring a Clean, Modern Electric Generating Fleet while Maintaining Electric System Reliability," M.J. Bradley & Associates LLC, August 2010
- "Coal‐Fired Electric Generation Unit Retirement Analysis," ICF International for The INGAA Foundation & INGAA, May 18, 2010
- "Growth from Subtraction," Credit Suisse, September 23, 2010
- "Why coal plants retire: power market fundamentals as of 2012," Susan F. Tierney, Analysis, Group, February 16, 2012
- Global Coal Plant Tracker, CoalSwarm
