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Inside Energy (https://insideenergy.org/2015/04/16/the-fall-of-coal/)

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Coal

The Fall Of Coal

By IE Read Feed | April 16, 2015
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April 16, 2015 | Politico | Erica Martinson

April 16 is a big day for the coal industry.

It is the day that the Obama Administration’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS, rule goes into effect for U.S. power plants. Complying with tough new pollution standards is just one reason why the most dominant fuel source for electricity production in this country – coal – is on its way out.

PoliticoCoalMap_TrimmedwSource

Politico’s Erica Martinson traces the long arc of coal’s ascendence and demise in a story today. Ironically, coal first won favor in the wake of the 1970s energy crisis when then President Jimmy Carter pushed America to wean itself off of foreign oil and use more domestically produced coal. After touring a coal-fired plant near Louisville, Kentucky, Carter said:

“I would rather burn a ton of Kentucky coal, than to see our nation become dependent by buying another barrel of OPEC oil.”

But now a new President, and a new set of priorities, is heralding the end of the coal era. It is not only new pollution-scrubbing regulations, but also a new abundance of cheap, cleaner natural gas (thanks to hydraulic fracturing) and widespread concerns over climate change and global warming. The mercury pollution rule spelled the shutdown or partial shutdown of at least 58 coal-burning plants; in the next eight years, 76 more plants will take coal out of commission.

Environmentalists are applauding: “Judgment Day is coming,” said Bruce Nilles of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. But coal state economies are staggering under the economic changes this transition is forcing.

You can learn more about the history and future of coal by checking out Inside Energy’s new and ongoing series, The Future of Coal.

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Future of Coal

The coal industry in this country is under threat. Since 2012 nearly 60 coal-burning power plants have partially or completely shut down. But the dirty fuel still supplies 40% of our power and is critical, proponents say, to maintaining the reliability of our electricity infrastructure. We want to know: What is the future of coal in the United States?

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  • IE Read Feed
  • Coal
  • mercury
  • Obama

Read Next

  • Federal Regulations Drive The Past And Future Of Coal

    Nationally, coal production is down and being challenged by market forces and new federal regulations. Ironically, Wyoming’s rise to dominance as the country’s top coal-producing state started 45 years ago with another regulation: The Clean Air Act of 1970.

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