Vulcan UC Update: Monitoring the End of the Line for Retired Plants

We are enhancing Vulcan UC with retirement monitoring capabilities to track the deconstruction status of retired power plants.

The recent deconstruction of the Homer plant has highlighted the importance of this feature. Once a plant is demolished, the likelihood of it being recommissioned as a coal-fired facility becomes negligible. Conversely, plants that have not undergone demolition, particularly with the current administration's support for coal, have a greater potential for revitalization.

In situations where high datacenter load leads to infrastructure constraints, utilizing existing infrastructure where feasible would be a rational approach. Our analysis of 42 retired coal plants indicates that 14 have already been demolished.

Clients with access to Vulcan will find this data file available and will soon be able to visualize the status of these plants within the user interface (UI).

Homer City 3/21/25

3/24/25

This week, we identified two new projects and successfully confirmed one. Below, we would like to highlight one of the identified projects: Plant ID 65876 - Desna.

The reason we are highlighting this particular plant is due to a discrepancy we've observed. While the EIA-860M form has listed this plant as "under construction" since January 2024, this week marks the first instance of observed land clearing activity.

65876 Desna, 200 MW Battery, Brazoria County TX, Planned Operation: 12/2025

Vulcan Earliest Online: 11/4/2025 Vulcan Proposed Online V1: 3/1/2026 V2: 12/1/2025

EIA Status: (U) Under construction <50% since Jan 2024

Vulcan Identified: 4/7/2025 Vulcan Rank: 4.83

3/25/2025