In our last Smart Grid article we reported that OFGEM, the UK regulator of electricity and gas markets in the UK was warning that electrical generation will plunge to 4% spare capacity from its present level of 14%. Some 12GW of coal fired plants; equivalent to a sixth of the total generation capacity can now only operate for a limited number of hours before they are closed in order to comply with the European Union air pollution regulations. Similar news has been broadcast in the US. New research from the Brattle Group in America — an update to an analysis conducted in 2010 — finds that 59,000 to 77,000 MW of coal plant capacity are likely to retire over the next five years as a result of the impact of emerging Environmental Protection Agency air quality regulations on coal-fired power plants. This is approximately 25,000 MW more than previously estimated. Since the 2010 analysis was […]