Dr. Conca reports that coal and natural gas together produce two-thirds of our electricity, almost equally split between them. Nuclear produces 19%, hydro produces 7%, and renewables about 7%. Oil produces even more energy than either coal or gas, but it is used almost entirely for transportation. So if coal is still producing a third of our electricity, why is the coal industry going bankrupt? Sure, coal used to produce about 50% of our electricity just ten years ago, but 33% is still the largest share of this market, tied with natural gas.
At the end of April, Peabody Energy, the largest private producer of coal in the world, founded in 1883, declared bankruptcy. The company, valued at $20 billion in 2011, is now worth just $38 million. Four other American coal companies also declared bankruptcy this past year. The total value of companies in the Dow Jones U.S. Coal Index has plummeted well over 90% in the last five years. The U.S. coal industry is imploding, says Brad Plumer at Vox. The reasons are tougher regulations, a flood of cheap natural gas from fracking, and a sudden decrease in demand from China, something the industry had bet the farm on. Even though coal is much cleaner than ever before, State energy portfolios are eliminating coal, and increasing natural gas, as fast as possible. According to Stephen Moore at The Washington Times, U.S. coal plants have reduced their emissions significantly in the past several decades.
But the shift away from coal is accelerating because of regulations discouraging companies from building new coal-fired plants, and State energy portfolios that dictate an increasing amount of power coming from renewables. Besides China new decreasing hunger for coal, another problem with selling coal to China is that no one in America wants that coal going through their backyards, especially along the best routes in the Pacific Northwest.
Re-Directed URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/05/05/is-fracking-for-gas-dirty-enough-for-a-coal-resurgence/#3433ee384727
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