General Electric has announced that it is to stop making coal fired power plants, a field in which it was for decades a major player. Its exit is likely to include divestitures along with possible site closings and job cuts, though it will work with customers to complete existing obligations, and the company will focus more on renewable energies, while continuing its gas business. The move is reflective of the poor outlook for new coal fired power plants in the US and Europe, driven both by environmental concerns and, in the US, by the availability to cheap natural gas. Kathy Hipple, from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, commented on the announcement by noting that it “is an acknowledgement that growth in the energy sector will no longer be in coal…the market will ultimately reward GE for exiting new coal builds.”