Facing increasing pressure to retire coal-fueled generating assets, U.S. utilities have formally announced the retirement of more 70 gigawatts (GW) of coal plant retirements in the next 15 years. Until recently, newly constructed natural-gas-fired units typically replaced decommissioned coal plants.

In 2021, the U.S. Congress and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began encouraging owners and operators that are closing coal-fired generation plants to redevelop the sites for renewable power generation. Developing clean energy alternatives at coal-fired power plants slated for closure can help achieve corporate decarbonisation goals.This is not just a U.S. phenomenon, globally many countries have significant carbon reduction goals and are looking to replace coal-fueled generation with other low carbon energy sources.

Repowering a fossil-fueled generation facility for clean energy generation offers many advantages, including the potential to reuse existing site infrastructure, operating and environmental permits, equipment, facilities, and water usage for future clean power generation and energy storage facilities. Repowering to clean power generation may also provide social and economic benefits to the surrounding community through retention of jobs and tax base.

For these reasons, many utilities seek strategies to evaluate the potential for repowering of coal-powered facilities and sites planned for decommissioning to low-carbon and carbon-free generation. This document summarises key issues to consider and understand when evaluating whether a closing coal-fired plant can effectively be repurposed for nuclear power generation.