"WASHINGTON — Americans are consuming less coal in 2018 than at any time since Jimmy Carter’s presidency, a federal report said Tuesday, as cheap natural gas and other rival sources of energy frustrate the Trump administration’s pledges to revive the U.S. coal industry.
A report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected Tuesday that 2018 would see the lowest U.S. coal consumption since 1979, as well as the second-greatest number on record of coal-fired power plants shutting down.
The country’s electrical grid accounts for most of U.S. coal consumption. U.S. coal demand has been falling since 2007 in the face of competition from increasingly abundant and affordable natural gas and renewable energy, such as solar and wind power. Tougher pollution rules also have compelled some older, dirtier-burning coal plants to close rather than upgrade their equipment to trap more harmful coal emissions."
Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Daly report for the Associated Press December 4, 2018.
SEE ALSO:
"Trump Tried To Rescue Coal. Instead, Coal Capacity Retirements Doubled in 2018" (Ars Technica)
"The World Needs to Quit Coal. Why Is It So Hard?" (New York Times)
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