U.S. utilities seen burning more coal as prices decline

“A recent increase in U.S. natural gas prices and a decline in coal is set to dent demand for gas as utilities use more coal to generate power, electricity traders said on Tuesday.”

Read more at Reuters.

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2 Responses to U.S. utilities seen burning more coal as prices decline

  1. This seems tricky to me. I imagine it would be hard to build an electrical generator that could readily switch between gas and coal as prices change. Gas would come through a (big, I assume) pipe but coal has to be stored on-site and handled very differently.
    That makes it difficult for a utility to decide how to operate, it seems to me.

  2. Utilities mostly hedge these kind of bets, opting for a mixed generation portfolio. Not an optimal result, but given the construction lead times, the only manageable option.

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