In the Northeast region, access to abundant natural gas supply from the Marcellus and Utica shale plays in Pennsylvania and Ohio has led to increases in natural gas-fired power plant capacity.
Similarly, access to high quality wind resources in the Midwest region has led to increases in wind capacity. In both cases, these additions have replaced coal-fired capacity. Nearly 14,000 MW of coal-fired capacity was retired in 2019—the third-most annual coal retirements in EIA’s power plant inventory.
Although total electricity generation across the United States has remained relatively flat since the mid-2000s, power plant installations have continued to increase in the past decade, partly to replace retiring coal-fired plants.
Low natural gas prices, a rapid decline in construction costs for solar and wind systems, and an increase in renewable portfolio standard requirements in many states have led to more generation from natural gas-fired and renewable resources in many regions. In 2010, coal was the predominant source of electricity generation in the United States as a whole and in every region except the Northeast.
In 2019, coal was the most-used electricity generation source in only the Midwest.