US utility holding company WEC Energy has accelerated its plan to eliminate coal as an energy source and replace it with natural gas and renewables.
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company said yesterday that it now expects to retire its remaining coal-fired units by the end of 2032, roughly three years earlier than previously scheduled.
WEC's plan will cut nearly 1,800MW of coal capacity from its portfolio over the next eight years, with the biggest reductions coming by the end of 2025. WEC also plans to only use coal as a backup fuel source starting in 2030.
The company maintained its previous expectation of closing two units of the Oak Creek power plant in Wisconsin in May 2024 and another two units of the plant in late 2025. Those units have a combined 1,135MW of capacity.
WEC also still plans to exit units 1 and 2 of the Columbia Energy Center by 1 June 2026. That aligns with the retirement target set last year by the company and plant co-owners Alliant and Madison Gas and Electric. WEC derives 300MW of capacity from the 1,100MW plant.
Lastly, the company will retire unit 3 of the Weston plant by the end of 2031.
All of the coal plants are in Wisconsin. Combined, the plant units received nearly 7.2mn short tons (6.5mn metric tonnes) of Powder River Basin coal in 2022, as well as 4.2mn st in the first eight months of 2023, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.
WEC will attempt to enhance fuel flexibility by blending gas at the Oak Creek units and Weston unit 4. The company has already tested burning natural gas at Oak Creek "up to certain levels."
The energy provider said the process of converting the coal units to natural gas is expected to be less expensive than keeping the units running on coal on the account of upcoming regulations.
"When you think about the [US Environmental Protection Agency] rules going forward...if it was on coal, you'd have to put it in carbon capture or do something with hydrogen," WEC chief executive officer Scott Lauber said. "Carbon capture would be extremely expensive, so we looked at what's efficient in the long-term."
WEC also added additional investments to its capital plan for the next five years, including a $1.4bn increase for regulated renewables, a $1.3bn increase for natural gas generation, and an $800mn increase for LNG capacity.
"We are making a significant commitment to new solar, wind and battery storage, as well as modern efficient natural gas generation and LNG storage," WEC executive chairman Gale Klappa said.
