US push for green energy could strand $68 billion in coal, gas assets – report
S&P Global Market Intelligence released a new report Friday that estimates that $34 billion in coal plant investment and another $34 billion in new gas plant construction could be at risk.
Recent pollution control investments in the coal fleet may be unrecoverable, S&P reports, and new combined-cycle gas plants built in the Midwest over the last 10 years may also become uneconomic, putting an estimated $68 billion in investments at risk.
While the past decade has seen US electric sector carbon emission declines, attributable mainly to the substitution of coal generation with natural gas generation, recent pricing trends indicate further emissions reductions via this avenue are unlikely, S&P says.
The recent advancement of renewable mandates and regulatory support for retiring coal generation in parts of the country indicate that a new round carbon emissions reductions are on the horizon.
To meet ambitious decarbonization targets such as those in the Biden administration’s Clean Energy Standard, green energy will need to expand much more rapidly.
This push, S&P notes, could reduce the value of recent investments in pollution control equipment at coal plants.
According to the S&P Global Environmental Project Database, over 100 coal power plants totaling 130 GW – more than half the existing US coal-fired fleet – have undergone or are planning to undergo environmental retrofits in some form.
The financial hit of different types of retrofits can vary substantially but retrofits on larger plants to address multiple types of emissions can cost well over $1 billion, S&P reports.
A review of markets with strong renewable mandates and carbon emissions pricing indicates much of the US fleet of recently built natural gas generation could come under pressure as well.
This week, President Joe Biden announced plans to call for half of all vehicles sold in the US to be capable of emissions-free driving by the end of the decade, an ambitious goal that automakers say can only be achieved with bigger government investment in charging stations and other infrastructure.
Source: Mining.com
Related News
Top News
Australia’s CEFC invests $75m in homegrown critical minerals
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
BHP seeks Brazil growth to emerge from shadow of mining disaster
Rasul Khalife Soltani, Secretary of the Iranian Steel Producers Association on the sidelines of the 1403 Steel Symposium:
Mobarakeh steel is producing green steel through scrap recycling
Norilsk Nickel plans to sell all it produces in 2025
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Iron ore posts weekly gain as investors assess fresh Beijing stimulus
Norge Mining acquires Europe’s largest natural graphite producer
Nickel price hits 4-year low as gloom offsets potential Indonesia cuts
Mercuria partners with Zambia on metals trading venture
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
Rio Tinto, BHP, and BlueScope to build ‘green iron’ plant
Arcadium Lithium investors sue miner over Rio Tinto takeover
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
Rio Tinto, BHP, and BlueScope to build ‘green iron’ plant
Arcadium Lithium investors sue miner over Rio Tinto takeover
Skeena advances Eskay Creek permitting, unlocks Orion funding
