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Inside Energy (https://insideenergy.org/2016/02/04/what-happened-to-coal/)

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bankruptcy

What Happened To Coal?

By Leigh Paterson | February 4, 2016
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Inside Energy

Wyoming’s coal industry is in the midst of the largest transition since production took off in the late 1970s. Demand is falling and some of the largest coal companies in the country have filed for bankruptcy over the past year. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Wyoming mines produced around 376 million tons of coal in 2015, down by nearly 20 million tons from the year before. These changes will have big impacts on jobs, revenue, a way of life. So, what happened to coal? How did the industry get to the point where companies are declaring bankruptcy and demand is in steady decline? These are polarizing questions with plenty of political finger pointing. Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson reports.

What’s Next:

  • Inside Energy continues to cover the ups and downs of the coal industry in Wyoming and elsewhere.  See all of our coverage in our series The Future Of Coal.
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Related Series

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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  • bankruptcy
  • China
  • Coal
  • coal-fired electricity
  • debt
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  • Obama
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  • University of Wyoming
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About Leigh Paterson

Leigh Paterson is a reporter for Inside Energy, based in Wyoming.

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Read Next

  • Coal Country Celebrates Clean Power Plan Hold

    A surprise Supreme Court decision this week has thrown the Obama administration’s climate change legacy into doubt. The Clean Power Plan is the administration’s main avenue for reducing carbon emissions. It targets power plants, the largest source of carbon emissions in the country. Wyoming, North Dakota and Colorado are all suing to have the rule overturned and the injunction has given them new hope that might actually happen.

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