"Trump May Be Offering Coal Leases That No One Wants"

"President Donald Trump is expected to lift a moratorium on federal coal-mining leases Tuesday -- and it probably won’t do the industry much good until years after he’s left office.

That’s because U.S. coal companies including Peabody Energy Corp. won’t be looking to secure new reserves of the fossil fuel on federal land for years, especially as mining slows amid the sector’s worst downturn in generations. Production in Wyoming and Montana, where much of government coal is located, fell 18 percent in 2016 from the prior year. Coal’s share of U.S. power generation has plunged in the face of competition from cheap natural gas and renewables.

“No one’s looking for new coal reserves,” said Robert Godby, a professor of energy economics at the University of Wyoming. “The decline in coal demand has meant existing reserves will last a lot longer.’’"

Tim Loh reports for Bloomberg March 27, 2017.

SEE ALSO:

"Trump To Offer Federal Coal To Industry Awash In Reserves" (Reuters)

"Trump's Executive Order Is A Gift To Coal Executives. It Won’t Do Anything For Coal Miners." (Vox)

"Top US Coal Boss Robert Murray: Trump 'Can't Bring Mining Jobs Back'" (Guardian)

"Trump Promised To Bring Back Coal Jobs. That Promise ‘Will Not Be Kept,’ Experts Say." (Washington Post)

"Coal Miners Hope Trump’s Order Will Help. But Few Are Counting on It." (New York Times)

"A Look At How Trump's Moves On Coal Will Affect The Industry" (AP)

"Coal Is Losing Appalachian Stronghold as Trump Fights Back" (Bloomberg)

"Policy Shift Helps Coal, but Other Forces May Limit Effect" (New York Times)

"Clean Energy Employs More People Than Fossil Fuels In Nearly Every U.S. State" (Think Progress)

"Why Trump’s Rollback Of Obama Rules Won’t Do Much For Coal Country" (McClatchy)