California Will Stop Using Coal as a Power Source Next Month

Coal Economics and Reliability

• Several commenters argue U.S. coal is now mostly uneconomic: aging plants are unreliable, expensive to maintain, and more costly to run than new wind/solar plus storage, citing recent “coal cost crossover” analyses.
• Others push back that comparing “idealized” replacement scenarios is political framing, not proof that coal is universally uneconomic.
• There is broad agreement that old U.S. coal plants are nearing end of life and that new coal construction in the U.S. is effectively dead due to cost, financing, and skills constraints.
• Some note that “dirty” implies long‑term expense once climate and health impacts are accounted for.

China’s Energy Mix and the Coal Talking Point

• A long subthread debates China: one side points to massive new coal plants as evidence coal can’t be that bad; others emphasize that most new capacity there is now renewable and that coal’s share is falling.
• Clarifications:
  • Existing Chinese generation is still heavily coal-based, but new capacity is overwhelmingly solar/wind.
  • Absolute coal use appears to have risen until recently; some claim 2025 data show a turn to absolute decline, others stress the need to distinguish share vs absolute tonnage.
• Explanations offered: domestic coal vs imported gas, coal as backup for remote renewables, bureaucratic inertia, local political “safety nets,” and ongoing build‑out of long-distance HVDC lines.

California’s Transition: Gas, Batteries, and Diablo Canyon

• The Utah coal plant (Intermountain) feeding California is being replaced with a gas/hydrogen plant on the same site, leveraging existing transmission. Some lament this as a missed chance for more solar+storage.
• There is sharp disagreement over extending Diablo Canyon:
  • Supporters want nuclear for reliability.
  • Opponents cite $8–11B for a short extension and argue that money buys much more solar, storage, and some gas peakers.
• Several note California’s rapid rise of solar plus batteries and significant cuts in gas use, but also that grid reliability still leans on gas and storage.

Electricity Prices, Wildfires, and Regulation

• Commenters highlight California’s very high retail rates; some Bay Area users quote ~$0.80+/kWh.
• Multiple factors are cited: wildfire liability regime (inverse condemnation), heavy transmission and climate‑driven upgrade costs, regulatory burden, and utility practices.
• There’s contrast between investor‑owned utilities (e.g., PG&E) and cheaper municipal utilities.

Transmission, Siting, and Pollution Outsourcing

• Building new plants in California is described as extremely slow and difficult; repowering remote sites like Intermountain is seen as easier because of existing high‑capacity lines.
• Some note it is both politically easier and less locally harmful to place polluting plants away from dense population centers, though this raises equity questions.

Regulators, Regional Politics, and Just Transition

• A few commenters from coal states complain about being locked into expensive legacy coal by captured utility commissions.
• Others argue gas, not renewables, “killed coal,” and reject the idea that renewable firms should directly compensate coal regions, while acknowledging transition justice concerns.

EV Mandates and Grid Adequacy

• One thread is skeptical that California’s grid will be ready for a 2035 EV-only mandate and fears reliability issues.
• Others respond that federal actions have already constrained the mandate and that grid operators are generally more relaxed about EV loads than online commentators, especially with growing renewables and storage.