Coal in the News

30Jul

It’s Time to Sunset Federal Tax Credits for Wind and Solar

Via Inside Sources: A decade ago, more than 50 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States came from coal-fired generating plants.  But by 2016, coal’s No. 1 status had been replaced by natural gas. At the same time, the deployment of renewable energy sources has grown dramatically in recent years and now accounts […]
15Jul

Clean Coal Technologies Should be Harnessed for Post-virus Recovery and Beyond

Via The Washington Examiner:Coal’s importance for the U.S. electricity grid has been shrinking for several decades, from supplying more than 50% of the nation’s electricity in 2000 to only 17% this year. It’s in retreat in Europe as well, but those trends defy a bigger global story, one where coal’s importance is larger than ever. […]
14Jul

Opinion: Energy Agenda Should Focus on Clean Coal

Via The Eastern New Mexico News: Are renewable sources of energy ready to stand on their own two feet? After billions already spent and substantial subsidies that continue, wind and solar power generated only 9% of U.S. demand in 2019. In contrast, coal and natural gas met 63% of U.S. power demand. Replacing fossil fuels […]
07Jul

The US Must Still Focus on Clean Coal Technologies

Via RealClearEnergy: When environmentalists talk about carbon mitigation, they invariably leave out coal technology. That’s absurd. The reality is that, despite coal plant shutdowns in the United States and Europe, coal is prospering in Asia and beyond, and this requires a new way of thinking and talking about the transition to clean energy sources and […]
19Jun

We Still Need Coal to Ensure Power Grid Reliability

Via The Hill: In 2018, natural gas surpassed coal to become the largest source of electricity generation in the United States. And during the past four months, admittedly a period of reduced power demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar actually have pushed more electrons into the nation’s power grid than have […]
11Jun

What Happens When the Next Pandemic is a Power Outage?

Via The Southern Illinoisan: Imagine if, in 2018, someone had fully predicted the arrival of COVID-19. They explained the scale of the coming pandemic — and gave policymakers time to prepare. It’s almost impossible to imagine such a scenario. And it’s human nature to doubt such “bad news” predictions. However, we might be on the […]
26May

Keep Energy Affordable During COVID-19 Recovery

Via The Piqua Daily Call: In the wake of nearly 40 million jobless claims in recent weeks, Americans are clearly struggling to pay the bills. In fact, a new national poll found that nearly 50 percent of registered voters are increasingly worried about paying for household expenses, including electricity. This isn’t surprising given the havoc […]
01May

Will Electricity be Affordable in our Post COVID-19 Nation?

Via The Review: The COVID-19 pandemic is clearly wreaking havoc with the U.S. economy. And Americans are already feeling the pain. As Washington starts to grapple with this economic disruption, there’s a looming problem that must be addressed. Our nation will begin to dig out of the crisis in the coming months, but we’re going […]
28Apr

For Energy, Affordability, Reliability, and Balance Matter More Now Than Ever

Via RealClearEnergy: Energy markets are in disarray. Look no further than oil prices slipping into negative territory for evidence of the chaos. We are only just beginning to understand the economic disruption wrought by a virus that has brought much of the global economy to a screeching halt. While the turmoil in the oil sector […]
17Apr

EPA Action on MATS Marks a Return to Balanced Regulation

The National Mining Association (NMA) today applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) revised Supplemental Finding and Residual Risk and Technology Review final rule. The agency’s action rights a longstanding abuse of regulatory power. The 2012 MATS rule was a pivotal, destructive and illegal assault on the […]