General Electric announces No Coal Goal

October 5, 2020

General Electric recently announced that it plans to stop making coal-fired power plants and instead focus on more renewable sources of power.

This exit from the coal business could include site closings, job cuts and divestitures, as the U.S. industrial conglomerate works with existing customers to complete current obligations.

“GE’s exit from building new coal-fired power — after decades as a leader in this space — is an acknowledgement that growth in the energy sector will no longer be in coal,” said Kathy Hipple, a financial analyst at Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “The market will ultimately reward GE for exiting new coal builds.”

GE has said in the past it would focus less on fossil fuels and more on renewable energy, demonstrating an increasing acceptance of clean power sources by utilities.

According to analysts, this shift also makes GE’s portfolio more environmental, social and governance centric.

In 2015, GE bought the coal-fired turbine maker Alstom for $10 billion.

General Electric announces No Coal Goal

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