The coal industry is losing its grip on the U.S. power grid.
President Obama is pushing tougher emissions rules in the face of climate change while government subsidies are fueling the rise of renewables and natural gas has emerged as a cheaper resource. As a result, the once dominant coal industry is retiring its fleets left and right while new builds are few and far between.
Whether or not this is truly a "War on Coal" is up for debate, but one thing is clear: the future of U.S. coal doesn't look very bright.
Utility Dive rounded up key figures and graphs to show the trends facing U.S. coal generation. Take a look and let us know what you think the future holds for coal power in the U.S.
37.4: Percentage coal made up out of the total amount of electricity generated in the U.S. in 2012, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
45: The number of new coal plants under construction or proposed to be built, according to the Sierra Club's proposed coal plant tracker.
175: The number of coal plants expected to retire in the next five years, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
3,246: The amount in U.S. dollars per net installed kilowatt of capacity it costs to build a single advanced pulverized coal unit in 2013, the EIA reports.
6,599: The amount in U.S. dollars per net installed kilowatt of capacity it costs to build a single integrated gasification combined cycle unit with carbon capture and sequestration in 2013, the EIA reports.
1,500,000,000: The amount in U.S. dollars Duke Energy's new Edwardsport coal-gasification plant in Indiana will cost on top of its initial estimate of $1.985 billion.
1/6: Fraction of U.S. coal generating capacity that has been closed or is currently scheduled to be shut down since January 2010, according to the Sierra Club.
50,000: Number of megawatts of coal-fired generation that has been closed or is currently scheduled to be shut down since January 2010, the Sierra Club reports.
1/3: Fraction of U.S. coal generation the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign aims to retire by 2015.
105,000: Number of megawatts of U.S. coal generation the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign aims to retire by 2015.
50,000,000: Amount of money the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign garnered from a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
53,978: Beyond Coal and its 100 agency partners have accelerated the closure of at least 142 coal power plants, representing 53,978 megawatts, or just over 15% of the nation's coal fleet, according to the Sierra Club.
70,000,000,000-100,000,000,000: Amount in U.S. dollars it will cost generators to cut sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions in order to comply with EPA regulations, a 2010 Credit Suisse study revealed.
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