Supporting the Nation’s Coal Workers and Communities in a Changing Energy Landscape

The document estimates that providing comprehensive supports—including wage replacement, education, and relocation allowances—for dislocated coal workers in the U.S. would cost between $33 billion over 25 years and $83 billion over 15 years. It details the methodology used to calculate the number of affected workers, utilizing 2019 data to identify 52,804 coal miners and an estimated 37,071 power plant workers. The analysis assumes a total coal phaseout between 2030 and 2040, focusing on 'dislocated' workers who will not reach retirement age by the end of the transition.

• The estimated cost to provide a comprehensive set of supports to workers who lose their jobs before retirement age ranges from $33 billion over a 25-year period to $83 billion over a 15-year period.
• In 2019, there were 52,804 individuals employed in coal mining and an estimated 37,071 workers at coal-fired power plants in the United States.
• Between 2015 and 2019, approximately 10,000 workers lost jobs in coal-fired power plants, while 13,167 jobs were lost in coal mining during the same period.
• The cost analysis is based on the assumption that all coal production and coal-fired power generation in the U.S. will cease between 2030 and 2040.
• The proposed support package includes five years of comprehensive wage replacement, with costs estimated at $31.0 billion in the low case and $58.4 billion in the high case.
• Additional support measures quantified in the analysis include a $10,000 relocation allowance per worker and free post-secondary education for dislocated workers and their children.

APA

Richardson, J., & Anderson, L. (2021). Supporting the Nation’s Coal Workers and Communities in a Changing Energy Landscape. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/Supporting-the-Nation%27s-Coal-Workers-%28appendix%29.pdf

Chicago

Richardson, Jeremy, and Lee Anderson. Supporting the Nation’s Coal Workers and Communities in a Changing Energy Landscape. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2021. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/Supporting-the-Nation%27s-Coal-Workers-%28appendix%29.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Richardson |first1=Jeremy |last2=Anderson |first2=Lee |title=Supporting the Nation’s Coal Workers and Communities in a Changing Energy Landscape |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=April 2021 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/Supporting-the-Nation%27s-Coal-Workers-%28appendix%29.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{richardson2021supporting, author = {Richardson, Jeremy and Anderson, Lee}, title = {{Supporting the Nation’s Coal Workers and Communities in a Changing Energy Landscape}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/Supporting-the-Nation%27s-Coal-Workers-%28appendix%29.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }