The Fall Of Coal

Demand For Coal Slides As Renewable Energy, Natural Gas Fill In The Gaps

May 9, 2019 (Colorado Public Radio)

“…[Despite the president’s rhetoric,] U.S. demand for coal to generate electricity will keep sliding in coming months…Renewable energy sources including wind, solar and hydropower are expected to fill much of the gap left by coal's decline…It's particularly true for Western states, where renewables will provide almost a quarter of the power to households and businesses during the peak summer season…[Natural gas is expected to have a 40 percent share of U.S. markets this summer…[The White House has tried] to ease coal plant regulations and mining restrictions. But after production briefly bumped up in [2016, it is now falling in] almost all coal mining states…

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Wyoming, Kentucky and Texas have seen the biggest drops so far this year. Among the top 10 coal states, only Montana has seen a slight increase in the volume of coal mined in 2019…Coal's share of power generation is projected to be 25 percent this summer. That's down roughly half over the past decade and follows a wave of coal plant retirements by utilities seeking cheaper and cleaner-burning alternatives…[And, driven by economics,] plant retirements continue to stack up…Utilities this summer will pay about 3 percent more for coal and 12 percent less for natural gas compared with last year…” click here for more

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