No U.S. coal unit has retired in 2026 so far. Here is what happened to the 6.4 GW that was planned
In February, EIA said 6.4 GW of U.S. coal capacity was scheduled to retire in 2026. I went through EIA's own monthly generator inventory (Form EIA-860M, through the August 2026 report) row by row to see where that plan stands. Through August, no U.S. coal generator has retired in 2026. That holds both inside the plan and outside it. EIA's Electric Power Monthly retired-units table (data for July…
Despite planning for 6.4 GW of U.S. coal capacity to retire in 2026, no coal generator has retired thus far. EIA's monthly generator inventory shows that 2,770 MW of the planned 6,354 MW have moved out of the 2026 timeframe, while another 2,570 MW are still scheduled for 2026 but held open by DOE emergency orders. An additional 335 MW have been requested for more time by their owners.
Only Sherburne County 1 in Minnesota remains on track for 2026 retirement. The data aligns closely with EIA's published coal plans in the past. However, in 2025, only 26% of the planned MW retired on time, while in previous years, the figure was 72% or higher.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
