The coal industry is in a fight for its life. The forces arrayed against coal are many, varied and powerful. Supporters of coal — producers, consumers, suppliers, transporters — need to rally at the state and regional levels because that’s where the fundamental decisions on coal power plants will be made. National committees, debates in Washington and discussions at 30,000 feet will not prevent coal from being a footnote in America’s energy history by the time today’s Kindergarteners leave middle school. Coal needs “boots on the ground” from the industry. Our Website, seeks to get data on the value of coal into the hands of individuals and companies who want to defend coal’s future.
Despite being the cornerstone of the U.S. electricity supply system for over a century, the coal industry has become the punching bag for its opponents and now they are going for the knockout. The relatively passive approach of the coal industry is simply not working. Over 300 coal power plants have closed in the last 15 years and generating capacity has declined 46% — from 318 Gigawatts (GW) to 170 GW. And the beat goes on, based on the latest DOE Outlook, by 2030 coal capacity will be only 69 GW. After that comes oblivion for coal in the U.S. — the fuel that built the nation.
Plant by plant, decision by decision, the U.S. is losing its most reliable and affordable energy asset. The Trump Administration has filed extensions to keep some plants open but these are only temporary (e.g. 90 days) and are like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Americans will pay higher rates, have less reliable power and fall ever further behind China, which is building the most robust electric power system on earth, and it is anchored by coal. The world is becoming increasingly electrified. It will be China’s strength in coal-based electricity that will propel it to ascendance over the U.S. in Artificial Intelligence.
In the U.S., cult-like opposition to coal comes from a variety of self-serving groups:
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