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Consumers Energy plans to quit coal generation by 2025.
- This new date 15 years earlier than previously planned.
- The utility plans to supply consumers with 90% clean energy by 2040.
U.S. electricity utility, Consumers Energy, plans to stop coal utilisation as an electricity generation source by 2025 and build 8GW of solar plants by 2040. The company’s plan, pending regulatory approval, will see the company become coal-free 15 years earlier than currently expected.
Under the plan, the company will retire its Campbell 1 and 2 unit, which generates over 600 MW alongside the 840MW Campbell 3 unit. Consumers Energy will also shut down its Karn 3 and 4 units (total capacity of over 1.1GW and currently running on natural gas and fuel oil).
The company estimates that clean energy sources such as solar and wind will account for over 60 per cent of its generation capacity by 2040. The company is banking on technological advances in energy storage and customer efficiency to meet customers’ demand with 90 per cent clean energy by then.
The company also plans to purchase 4 gas-fired plants to generate baseload power. Consumers Energy estimates that this will save customers $650 million (EUR 545m) through 2040 than its current plan.