According to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, power generation operators in the United States are on track to achieve significant reductions in installed power generation capacity over the next few years. In 2024, the United States plans to retire 5.2 gigawatts of power generation capacity, compared with 13.5 gigawatts retired last year, a staggering 62% decline. The figure is the lowest since 2008. Notably, coal and natural gas combined account for 91 percent of the generation capacity scheduled to be retired in the United States this year, showing that the pace of clean energy replacement of traditional energy sources is accelerating.

In the coal power sector, a total of 22.3 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity has been retired in the United States in the past two years (2022-2023). The pace of coal retirements is expected to slow in 2024, with the 2.3 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity planned for retirement accounting for just 1.3% of U.S. coal-fired capacity, but 45% of projected U.S. capacity retirements in 2024. It is worth mentioning that the scale of coal power retirement is expected to pick up again in 2025, when 10.9 GW will be retired. It is worth noting that the main target of coal power decommissioning in 2024 will be older units, which have a volume-weighted average service life of almost 54 years, about 10 years higher than the weighted average service age of coal power units in operation.

In terms of natural gas generation, 2.4 GW of natural gas generation capacity is expected to be retired in 2024, accounting for 46 percent of the projected U.S. capacity to be retired in 2024 and 0.5 percent of the current U.S. natural gas generation operating capacity. This shows that although natural gas power generation is cleaner than coal power generation, it is also facing the pressure of decommissioning in the context of energy structure adjustment.

In addition, 450 megawatts of oil-fired generation capacity will be retired in the United States in 2024. This initiative will help reduce the environmental impact of oil-fired power generation and is an important step in America's transition to clean energy.

Overall, the United States will continue to promote the retirement of power generation capacity in the next few years to achieve the optimization of the energy structure. The retirement of coal and natural gas power generation will free up space for the development of clean energy, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote carbon neutrality. Editor/Xu Shengpeng