Vistra Energy’s latest August 21 announcement to shut down four coal plants continues a decade-long trend of reduced coal use in Illinois’s power generation mix. Vistra Energy decided to retire four coal-fired power plants in Illinois to conform to the requirements of the Multi-Pollutant Standard (MPS) rule imposed by the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB). The new amendments to the IPCB’s MPS rule, which was passed on June 20, require a reduction of at least 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electric generation by coal-fired plants under the jurisdiction of IPCB’s MPS region no later than December 31, 2019.
To comply with the MPS standards, Vistra Energy has filed shutdown notices with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the PJM Interconnection, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The four Illinois plants scheduled for shut down are
- 151 MW Coffeen 2 plant, in Coffeen, to be retired by November 19, 2019
- 329 MW Duck Creek 1 plant, in Canton, to be retired by December 22, 2019
- 60 MW Hennepin 1, in Hennepin, to be retired by November 19, 2019
- 200 MW Hennepin 2, in Hennepin, to be retired by November 19, 2019
These announced retirements, which continue the trend of declining coal capacity in the Illinois electric generation fleet, will increase the share of natural gas and renewables capacity. EIA power generation data indicate that coal generation in the state fell by 36% between 2010 and 2018. During the same period, generation by natural gas-fired plants more than tripled, from 5.7 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2010 to 17 GWh in 2018, while generation by renewable sources more than doubled to 12.6 GWh in 2018.
Between 2010 and 2018, a total of 3.7 gigawatts (GW) of nameplate coal capacity was retired. During the same period, a total of 12 GW of natural gas and 5 GW of renewable electric generation capacity was added in Illinois.
New renewable and natural gas power plants are being built in Illinois. Between 2019 and 2022, 18 new renewable plants, with a total nameplate capacity of 1.6 GW, and two new natural gas plants, with a total nameplate capacity of 1.3 GW, are slated to come online.
