coalfired electricity generation in 2019 falls to 42year low
coalfired capacity peaked at 318 gigawatts (GW) in 2011 and has been declining since then because many plants retired or switched to other fuels and few new coalfired plants came online. By the end of 2019, coalgenerating capacity totaled 229 GW. The coal fleet's rate of operation, or utilization, has also decreased.