Jul 21 2009

Coal in Decline

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall

America's power sector may be shrinking along with the national economy, but the green lining is that it's becoming cleaner and more renewable.

With industrial production in free-fall over the past year, electric generation dropped 5 percent from April 2008 to April 2009, according to a report this month from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Of all the major fuels to take a hit, coal-fired generation suffered the worse, down almost 14 percent over the 12-month period. By contrast, natural gas-fired plants eased back only 1.5 percent.

Renewable energy emerged as the real winner over the past year, with generation from wind up 35 percent. Nuclear and hydro, which also emit no greenhouse gases, were up 3 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Coal is still king for now. So far this year, it fueled 46 percent of electric power in the United States, followed by nuclear and natural gas at 21 percent each. Hydropower accounted for 7 percent and renewable energy still only 4 percent.

But the share for renewables has nowhere to go but up. More and more states--including, most recently, Kansas--are instituting renewables incentives and mandates. And coal is coming under pressure not only from the specter of national climate change legislation, but from closer scrutiny by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers of controversial mining practices such as mountain-top removal in Appalachia.

© 2008 Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms

"PG&E" refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation.