Sweden is now coal-free. Two years ahead of schedule.

"Power utility Stockholm Exergi has announced the permanent closure of coal-fired co-generation plant KVV6, in Hjorthagen, eastern Stockholm.  The Scandinavian country had planned to rid itself of coal by 2022 but appears to have decommissioned its facilities two years early...

With the KVV6 plant closure announced on Thursday, the move appeared to come a day ahead of the closure of Austria’s last coal plant, the Mellach district heating plant, on Friday. Belgium was the first European nation to exit coal, in 2016...

Other European nations plan to exit coal in the next few years. France expects to shut its last coal-fired facility by 2022, Slovakia and Portugal in 2023, the U.K. in 2024 and Ireland and Italy a year later. Euro neighbors Greece, the Netherlands, Finland, Hungary and Denmark also plan to ditch coal-fired power generation this decade, in line with Paris Agreement climate commitments.

Against ‘relentless’ competition from solar and wind power, the financial case for coal is becoming incrementally worse."