US coal use dropped to 34% in 2015

Interesting next couple of years to see where Clean Power Plan goes including law suits. It still seems like we have about 20 states mainly coal based. The issue is heating up here due to politics and lobbying. We will shut down lots of coal too, that's not the issue. Big issue we have everyone advocating different energy choices.

 

24 States Sue Obama Over Clean Power Plan

24 states are in lawsuits. This includes texas which is only 29% coal, but has harsher rules, because we make stuff and use airconditioning, which aren't really considered. ERCOT the grid operator thinks a great deal of solar will be built in the state with or without the plan, but the plan may cause earlier than expected coal shut down of newer plants and the building of more wind (12% is built already, the next 12% costs a lot more but less than electricity in conneticut).

Many are sueing about coal getting regulated twice, some are suing because the ag or governor hate the epa, some for legitamate concerns about unfair implementation.

With or without the plan though coal will decrease, its simple economics. Wheter something that texas would think is more fair, you close down more coal in coal heavy states with older plants, or you make the cleaner states close it down because they have more money, doesn't matter. Coal is going to decrease and the clean power plan, no matter how litigation ends will help. A bill in congress would be preferable, but congress seems broken, so its conning from the EPA and the courts.

 

Including Murry coal which in December posted:

The layoffs will hit at least 690 workers -- or roughly 9 percent of the company's workforce -- at five West Virginia mines represented by the United Mine Workers of America,

The Ohio-based company, which is privately held, declined to go into specifics about the job losses. But it confirmed layoffs will take place and blamed them, in part, on the Obama administration, which it has sued over environmental regulations.

“Murray Energy Corporation confirms that certain workforce adjustments and scheduling changes, made in the normal course of business, are necessary to reflect the current coal marketplace, . . .

Murray Energy already laid off more than 1,800 workers earlier this year.

“This is one last, cruel blow delivered to coal miners and their families in 2015 by the continuing weak coal market,” union spokesman Phil Smith said. “We look forward to an improving market in 2016 . . .

Source: Murray Energy Expected To Lay Off Hundreds Of Coal Miners​

Murray's real problem is the product they are selling.

Bob Wilson

 

Let's see 690 coal workers to have cleaner air in the US, versus 250,000 oil workers laid off because Aramco (oil company of saudi government) wants to shut down US production then raise the price on us again.

I'm not seeing how the coal unions problems are big for most americans. Layoffs happen all the time, and most of the time they are not in transitions to cleaner air. Some other lawsuits have a legitimate point, that the rules regulate coal twice and it should only be regulated once acording to US law, so parts may need to be rewritten.

 

Now, to get China and India to do the same!

DBCassidy

 

DBCassidy, with all respect, that would require a plan. I would only speak about China, where future energy increases appear to be based on renewables and nuke, but without reducing fossil-E production. I expect that wonderfully modern countries will continue on a slow slope to reduce fossil-C emissions, and the two big elephants (China and India) will be flat or slightly up.

Meaning that fossil-C emissions will continue at about 10 petagrams per year for at least another decade. Maybe two decades. We'll just have to 'put up with that' and hope that 500 ppm tropospheric CO2 is not such a bad thing.

 

In defense of coal jobs, there is one heckuva of a lot more than 690 people losing coal jobs in the USA. Let's face it they are under severe dislocation, as is the whole US fossil fuel energy industry.

 

The big pain is oil jobs, and that is about OPEC taking those jobs. Natural gas jobs are stable, solar jobs are increasing and are now bigger than coal jobs.

Here’s why Central Appalachia’s coal industry is dying - The Washington Post

looks like if they banned mountain top removal and other enviromentally hazardous jobs, coal minintg would improve more. That isn't what people really are after, its to help big coal, not jobs, and most jobs have been lost between 1983-2000, that makes it tough to blame obama.

Oil jobs should perhaps be protected from opec, with a oil tarrif say $40-brent in the tarrif each month on imported oil. That would be about $9/bbl right now. I don't think we really need to help saudi arabia and iran take our jobs and hurt our economy.

Those coal workers well big coal companies did that, along with natural market pressures from natural gas and wind. I don't see any reason to protect pollution like they decided to do in the late 1970s.

 

...let's see 2016

 

I'm not sure what you are waiting to see.

Coal employment will keep going down, maybe with slight bumps up if the EPA would enforce the clean water act and require better restoration.

If we look at mining since 1920, its been a declining industry since, with a bump up when the government favored coal power plants in the 1970s. Once these started being repealed in the 1990s the decline was on again. In 1920 what 2% of the population was employed related to ooal, then productivity and technology along with substitution to natural gas caused a big decline. Now there are what, less than 85,000 workers with 4 companies mining most coal out of 121 million workers with full time jobs or 0.7% of full time jobs. The rest of american coal jobs, less than 100,000 have to do with transporting the coal and workers in the old coal power plants. In case you haven't heard coal trains leaking particulates aren't really needed or good jobs. Hell the oil train and truck workers are more than them and no one really wants those jobs either. Then old coal power plants take a lot more workers to maintain than new power plants (coal, natural gas). All in all more oil workers got laid off in 2015 than all the coal workers in america. Also bigger solar construction workers. Yes its sad when someone loses their job, but for 30 years the slow nails in coal minings employment picture have been there.

I hope the counry retires coal workers faster, not slower. In the big picture its not a big deal, but the lower pollution of natural gas, wind, and solar are big positives for the country.