Coal

Affordable electricity prices have become a top priority for consumers, policymakers, voters, and elected officials. Electricity prices for the residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors averaged 6.7% higher in September 2025, compared to the same month one year ago. Residential prices alone increased by more than 7%, making it especially challenging for low- and middle-income […]

The thermal utilization of sustainable fuels and the recovery of waste heat play a central role in today’s energy generation and the decarbonization of the global industry. Industrial boilers are the backbone of this transition and provide steam for district heating, process applications, and electricity generation. To unleash their potential, boilers must operate cleanly and […]

The Trump administration during both its terms has prioritized its efforts on reviving the coal industry by introducing a series of policy changes and executive actions intended to boost coal leasing and production on federal lands. Yet, despite these political moves, coal’s trajectory in the U.S. energy market has followed a different path.

A rapid succession of Section 202(c) emergency orders has forced utilities to keep more than 2 GW of coal capacity online in December alone, marking an unprecedented federal intervention in grid operations and triggering legal challenges from states and environmental groups. Across all orders issued since May 2025, the DOE has now stalled the retirement […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued another emergency order to keep a coal-fired power plant operating, this time saying a Colorado facility must remain online at least another three months.

In early 2020, the prevailing narrative in the power sector was a continuation story of the developments from the decade before: renewable buildout will keep compounding, thermal capacity will keep retiring (albeit at a slower rate), markets will evolve to compensate for flexible generation products, capital will keep moving earlier in the development value chain […]

Global Energy Trends 2026   In this edition of Global Energy Trends, we examine how electricity markets are navigating the continued tug-of-war between the three aspects of the energy trilemma (affordability, sustainability and security) and how both innovation and inertia are shaping the sector. The climate signals of 2025 are harsh but clear. Heat, drought, […]

The last coal-fired power generation unit in Washington state, scheduled to close by year-end, is the latest U.S. coal facility ordered to remain in operation by the Trump administration. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) on December 16 told TransAlta, a Calgary, Canada-based independent power producer (IPP), to keep the 730-MW, coal-fired Centralia Unit 2 […]

The lone remaining coal-fired power plant in the state of Washington will shut down at the end of December, and will be converted to burn natural gas. Operator TransAlta Corp. on December 9 signed an agreement with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) for the transition, with a 16-year, fixed-price contract for the gas-fired generation that runs through 2044.

“The result of the 2024 presidential election probably had the biggest impact on the direction the U.S. energy industry is headed right now,” Brandy Johnson, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) with Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), told POWER. “It has opened up the pathway for fossil fuels in power generation again.” That shift is already visible across […]

POWER breaks down the top insights from Data Center POWER eXchange, its unique one-day summit curated by POWER’s editorial team and convened to examine the collision between accelerating data center load and tightening grid constraints.  The rise of artificial intelligence is poised to create the fastest, largest, and most concentrated surge of electricity demand in […]

For years, some folks have considered coal-fired power plants relics of a bygone era, overshadowed by the rise of natural gas and renewables. Yet, in an unexpected twist, coal is finding its way back into the

The Department of Energy (DOE) extended its run of federal grid interventions into winter over the past week, issuing a Section 202(c) emergency order on Nov. 18 for Consumers Energy’s 1,420-MW J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan and another on Nov. 25 for Constellation’s 760-MW Eddystone Units 3 and 4 in southeastern Pennsylvania in a […]

Keith Kotimko is the U.S. Decommissioning and Demolition Leader for WSP, a full-service solution provider that offers comprehensive facility decommissioning and demolition services. Kotimko provided POWER with insight into the process of permanently shutting down a power generation facility. He emphasized that decommissioning is a separate activity from demolition.

An energy research group said U.S. power generation capacity will be led by solar power in the short term, natural gas in the mid term, and nuclear power in the long term as coal-fired units continue to be retired.

Securing a reliable supply of electricity requires plenty of research to balance the risks and rewards of striking a deal.

The retirement of older thermal power generation facilities, driven by a transition to cleaner forms of energy, has increased in recent years as utilities and other power generators mothball plants that are uneconomic or simply no longer needed.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) providing up to $100 million in federal backing for projects focused on restoring and modernizing the nation’s existing coal plant fleet.  The Oct. 31–issued NOFO, administered by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, […]

Ideal for Pollution Control & Monitoring Systems’ Stack or Flue NOx Scrubbers San Marcos, CA—November 6, 2025—Process and pollution control engineers will find that the FCI ST100A Flow Meter helps them more accurately control the application of ammonia (NH3) for nitrous oxide (NOx) removal under harsh operating conditions in large flue stacks at cleaner coal […]

Process manufacturers and power producers are feeling the pressure of tight margins and increasing economic uncertainty. The data tools that engineers and plant operators have relied on for years are rapidly evolving, prompting many to consider how and when to migrate to a new data management platform that enables a more efficient and seamless integration […]

For more than a decade, the U.S. coal industry has been in decline — with waning investment, shrinking capacity, and the steady rise of gas and renewables. Yet, in 2025, a different story is emerging. Across the country, coal units once scheduled for quiet retirement are being called back into service in ways few anticipated—driven […]

In this case study, Lamons helped a Montana refinery overcome a critical flange misalignment issue during the final stages of an FCC unit turnaround. Traditional methods and standard gaskets failed to resolve the problem, threatening costly delays and safety risks. Leveraging our engineering expertise and rapid response capabilities, Lamons designed and delivered a custom wedge […]

Officials with Denmark-headquartered Aalborg CSP said the company has developed technology that could convert retired coal-fired power plants into thermal storage facilities for renewable energy.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has redrawn the U.S. energy sector map. By scaling back clean energy tax credits and easing regulations on fossil fuels, the act has simultaneously cooled renewable investment and reignited traditional energy expansion. For dealmakers in the energy industry, this has created both headwinds and new openings, especially in […]

FirstEnergy Corp. has submitted a plan to build a new 1,200-MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant to serve customers in West Virginia. The company recently filed an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with state regulators that also calls for keeping two major coal-fired power plants in West Virginia operating at least through the next decade.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has moved to shift capital planning and permitting timelines for the nation’s remaining coal-fired power units, acting on two measures targeting wastewater discharge under the Clean Water Act, and separately, air-quality visibility programs and the Clean Air Act. On Sept. 29, the EPA issued a proposed rule and companion […]

Regional areas of India are withdrawing incentives for renewable energy projects and instead signing long-term contracts to buy more coal-fired power generation.

Duke Energy announced plans to build more natural gas-fired generation capacity and look at nuclear power in order to meet the increased demand for power in its Carolinas service territory. The utility also said it will delay the retirement of some coal-fired facilities as it seeks to increase the supply of electricity for data centers and manufacturing plants.

The NTPC Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station, with an installed generation capacity of 4,783 MW, comprises 13 coal-fired units and includes solar and hydropower installations. The plant continues to implement advanced emission-control technologies as part of India’s broader decarbonization strategy.

Boilers are all around us. From home water heating to massive industrial applications, they are everywhere. This article covers boiler basics, including the basic types of packaged boilers and their thermal configurations.