Four in five EU coal plants are unprofitable - research

LONDON (Reuters) - Four in five coal plants in the European Union are unprofitable and utilities could face losses of nearly 6.6 billion euros this year, a report by think tank the Carbon Tracker Initiative said on Thursday.Lower costs for renewable energy and cheaper natural gas prices are increasingly competitive versus coal in power generation.More expensive technology will also need to be installed on many existing coal plants to meet stricter EU air quality standards from 2021 and rising..