Coal Industry Eyes Comeback as Efficient Plants Encourage Use
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Coal use in the U.S. is set to grow this year and next from a two-decade low as more efficient coal plants that can withstand new environmental regulations supplant old ones, an industry group predicted.
Hal Quinn, the president of the National Mining Association, said coal use is projected to be up 7.5 percent this year compared to 2012, and its use will continue unabated through 2020, despite the boost in production of natural gas and a deadline of 2015 for a new set of regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Because of those rules, a number of older, smaller power plants will close, Quinn said. That doesn’t mean overall coal use will fall.