On Thursday, the Energy Information Administration added a new brushstroke to the portrait of King Coal in decline. In every state that doesn’t end in “-aska,” coal consumption in the electric power sector dropped between 2007 and 2015.
Overall, the United States saw a 29-percent decline in coal use for electricity generation over this time period. The map below shows the percent change in states’ power-sector coal consumption since 2007. Darker colors indicate larger percentage cuts:
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The new EIA data confirms what many in the struggling coal sector already know. Earlier this month, Peabody Energy became the fourth major U.S. coal company to file for bankruptcy this year. You can blame (or thank) plummeting renewable energy prices, cheap natural gas, and regulatory pressures.
