Burning Coal, Burning Cash

The report analyzes the financial burden on U.S. states that rely on imported coal, identifying those with the highest spending and per capita costs. It highlights a trend of increasing dependence on coal from Wyoming and international sources, particularly in the Southeast and Midwest. The authors argue that these states can redirect funds from coal imports toward energy efficiency and homegrown renewables to create local jobs and reduce carbon emissions.

• In 2008, 38 U.S. states were net importers of coal, with 11 of those states spending over $1 billion on net coal imports.
• Wyoming has become the dominant supplier of U.S. coal, providing 40 percent of national production in 2008, up from 18 percent in 1990; its Powder River Basin shipped coal to 34 states in 2008.
• Georgia is the most coal-dependent state across all six measures used in the report, spending more than $2.6 billion on coal imports in 2008.
• Alabama had the highest per capita spending on imported coal in 2008, spending nearly $300 per resident.
• International coal imports more than tripled between 1999 and 2008, driven by demand for low-sulfur coal and high rail costs from Wyoming. In 2008, 16 states spent over $1.8 billion to import 25.4 million tons of coal, primarily from Colombia.
• Energy efficiency improvements in buildings and industry could reduce U.S. electricity demand by 24 percent by 2030, with nearly half of that potential located in Southern states.
• The Midwest has significant wind and bioenergy resources; Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota together had over 7,000 megawatts of installed wind capacity, representing about 20 percent of the U.S. total.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2010). Burning Coal, Burning Cash. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Burning-Coal-Burning-Cash_exec-summary.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Burning Coal, Burning Cash. 2010. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Burning-Coal-Burning-Cash_exec-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Burning Coal, Burning Cash |date=May 2010 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Burning-Coal-Burning-Cash_exec-summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2010burning, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Burning Coal, Burning Cash}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2010}, month = may, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Burning-Coal-Burning-Cash_exec-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }