California Says Goodbye to Coal

One of the most consequential moments in California’s ambitions to tackle climate change will take place next month.

Venice Beach, LA

The state will stop receiving electricity from the Intermountain Power Plant in Central Utah, meaning California's reliance on coal as a source of power will essentially be over - which, as we all know, is very good news for the planet, not just California.

The Los Angeles Times reckons such a milestone deserves recognition of some kind. "Perhaps a dimming of lights for one minute? Or a shout out to the political leaders who correctly projected that California could switch to cheaper and still reliable power sources like wind, solar and natural gas."

The U.S. got nearly half its electricity from coal-fired plants as recently as 2007. By 2023, that figure had dropped to just 16 percent. California, which has the largest economy in the nation, drove an even more dramatic shift, getting just 2 percent of its electricity from coal in 2024 - nearly all of it from the Intermountain plant.

Key to making that shift has been the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which has ordered less electricity from the Utah plant while simultaneously building a natural gas and hydrogen burning power station just across the street from Intermountain. So, whilst that's not a fossil-free solution, it is significantly better than burning coal, which spews a disproportionate amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

California's energy mix in now over two thirds renewable or zero-carbon sources, spanning solar, wind, and hydro, as well as nuclear and geothermal power. With California saying goodbye to coal, the state joins Idaho, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont, which already have no coal in their power mix.