Coal-fired power as a security backstop in Europe’s grid
December 16, 2025
The briefing finds that Washington is actively re-elevating coal—from an April EO to “reinvigorate” mining and promote exports to adding metallurgical coal to the DOE Critical Material List—but a large, aging fleet and economics keep a broad power-sector comeback unlikely. US coal capacity stood at ~174 GW (Dec-2024) with 70–100 GW previously slated for retirement by 2035; capacity factors slipped […]
