Coal Transition in the UNITED STATES

The US coal industry has faced a sharp decline driven by the shale gas revolution, increasing competitiveness of renewables, and federal environmental regulations. This transition has led to significant job losses and bankruptcies among major coal producers, particularly impacting regions like Appalachia and the Powder River Basin. To mitigate these effects, the Obama administration introduced the Power Plus Plan to fund economic diversification and worker retraining. However, low-income households still face high electricity costs, and bankrupt companies have shifted reclamation and pension liabilities to state budgets.

• US coal production fell by 23% between 2008 and 2015, dropping from 1,172 million short tons to 897 million short tons. This decline was driven by several factors, including the shale gas revolution, the Clean Air Act of 1990, and the increasing competitiveness of renewable energy.
• The transition has had uneven regional impacts; the Clean Air Act of 1990 shifted production from the Appalachian Basin to the Powder River Basin because the cost of compliance for the latter was half that of the former.
• The share of coal in total electricity generation decreased from 49% to 33% between 2006 and 2015, while the shares of natural gas and renewables rose to 33% and 7% respectively, primarily due to market dynamics rather than regulatory restrictions.
• Low-income households bear a disproportionate burden of electricity costs, spending 9.92% of their income on electricity compared to 1.38% for the highest income households. New renewable portfolio standards have increased utility bills for these families by 23%.
• The Obama administration's Power Plus Plan (2016) aimed to aid coal-impacted communities through economic diversification, funding for health and pension funds, and retraining workers for cleaner jobs such as solar panel installation.
• Between 2015 and 2016, 25 publicly listed US coal producers, including Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, and Alpha Natural Resources, filed for bankruptcy. This has resulted in the shifting of reclamation costs to state budgets; for example, Peabody struck a deal to pay only 17.5% of its $866 million reclamation obligations in Wyoming.

APA

Kok, I. (2017). Coal Transition in the UNITED STATES. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/COAL_US_v04.pdf

Chicago

Kok, Irem. Coal Transition in the UNITED STATES. Climate Strategies, 2017. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/COAL_US_v04.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kok |first1=Irem |title=Coal Transition in the UNITED STATES |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=2017 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/COAL_US_v04.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kok2017coal, author = {Kok, Irem}, title = {{Coal Transition in the UNITED STATES}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2017}, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/COAL_US_v04.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }