Transitioning To A Sustainable Energy Future
AEP plans to close several coal units by 2030 as part of its plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045. These closures equate to thousands of megawatts of coal-fired generation affecting communities across our service territory.
Several factors are driving this transition:
- Age of our facilities
- Operations and maintenance costs associated with our facilities
- Residential and business customer demand for cleaner energy sources
- Federal and state environmental requirements affecting coal plants
- Changing economics, such as fuel costs
- Investor expectations for cleaner energy sources
In making the difficult decision to close a coal plant, we are focused on balancing the plant’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, secure and affordable energy to customers and benefit the environment.
AEP Coal Generation Retirements
- Retired nearly 13,000 MW of coal-fueled generation during the last decade
- Will retire approximately 5,300 MW of additional coal capacity this decade
Hear from AEP leaders about what’s driving this transition.
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 increased affordability as renewables have become more cost-competitive with traditional energy sources.
AEP continues working with stakeholders to plan the types of energy resources, including renewables, required to meet customers’ current and future needs for cleaner and more affordable power. 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 |
