""I don't think it's going to change the underlying economics," says Michelle Solomon, a manager in the electricity program at the think tank Energy Innovation. "The reasons why coal has increased in cost will continue to be fundamentally true.""
"The new funding can't go very far. The Department of Energy plans to spend $ 625 million on coal projects, including $350 million to recommission and retrofit old plants. Another $25 million is set aside for retrofitting coal plants with natural gas co-firing systems. But that type of project can cost hundreds of millions or even a billion dollars for a single plant. (The $25 million, presumably, might only cover planning or a small pilot.)"
"One reason is age: the average coal power plant in the U.S. is around 50 years old, and they aren't designed to last much longer. Because renewable energy is cheaper, and regulation is likely to ramp up in the future, investors don't see building new coal power plants as viable. But trying to keep outdated plants running also doesn't make economic sense."
Federal spending of over half a billion dollars targets coal through subsidies, relaxed pollution rules, and expanded federal mining access, yet those measures are unlikely to reverse coal's decline or satisfy rising data center power demand. Aging coal plants, averaging around 50 years old, are costly to operate, prompting hundreds of retirements and deterring investment in new facilities. Coal generation costs rose 28% between 2021 and 2024. DOE plans include $625 million for coal projects, but retrofit and recommissioning costs can reach hundreds of millions to a billion per plant and often extend life only a few years.
Read at Fast Company
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