Transitioning To A Sustainable Energy Future
AEP plans to retire or convert (to natural gas) several coal units by 2030 as part of our plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045. This equates to thousands of megawatts of coal-fired generation affecting communities across our service territory.
AEP's energy transition is tied to:
- Continuing to invest in infrastructure to provide safe, reliable, affordable and environmentally-compliant service.
- Diversifying our electric generation fleet to minimize costs and risks to customers.
- Investing in transmission and distribution to enhance reliability and resilience, and to accommodate changing resources, demand and advanced technologies.
- Working with our regulators, policymakers and key stakeholders to emphasize the importance of reliability, resiliency, security and affordability.
- Conducting scenario planning to understand future risks and opportunities and sharing this information with our regulators, policymakers and key stakeholders.
- Supporting and engaging with our communities.
In making the difficult decision to retire coal units, we are focused on balancing the unit’s remaining life and economic viability with other options for delivering power. Those options include a mix of renewable energy and natural gas, which provide reliable and secure energy to customers.
AEP Coal Generation Retirements
- Retired, converted (to natural gas) or sold nearly 14,000 MW of coal-fueled generation during the past decade
- Expect to retire or convert an additional 4,100 MW of coal-fired generation this decade
A focus on renewable energy in particular is growing nationwide. Renewable energy provided almost 23 percent of the nation’s electrical generation in 2022. According to the Department of Energy, the transition to renewable sources, such as solar and wind, continues to grow in light of the associated benefits: enhanced reliability, security and resilience of the nation’s power grid; reduced carbon emissions; new job opportunities in the renewable energy industry; and a hedge against fuel price volatility.
AEP continues working with stakeholders to plan the types of energy resources, including renewables, required to meet customers’ current and future needs. The table below shows AEP’s projected resource additions from 2023-2032. When combined with AEP’s North Central Energy Facilities, which began commercial operation in the early 2020s, AEP’s new generation opportunity totals about 18.5 gigawatts over the next 10 years.
AEP’s Resource Needs Over Next 10 Years
| Resource | Projected Additions for 2023-2032 (in megawatts, or MW) |
|---|---|
| Solar | 8,170 |
| Wind | 7,204 |
| Storage | 565 |
| Natural Gas | 1,278 |
| Total | 17,217 |
