King Coal Makes Comeback No One Saw

A combination of a sharp increase in the need for electricity and a slowing rollout of wind energy has led to a resurgence of coal, which is the driest of all fossil fuels. It was supposed to be phased out, and the plan to do so was working. Plans by the Administration may reverse that. 

For decades, coal drove over one-third of electricity generation in the US. That dropped to 16% last year, according to the EIA. Wind power had jumped to 10%.

New Trump Rules

The Trump Administration has released executive orders that will badly damage wind production. The Executive Order said, “Under the authority granted to me in section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition for wind energy leasing all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS) as defined in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331.  This withdrawal shall go into effect beginning on January 21, 2025, and shall remain in effect until this Presidential Memorandum is revoked.”

Ember recently released a report that said, “Burning coal for energy is the single largest contributor to global warming, accounting for 41% of global carbon dioxide emissions.”

Newcastle coal futures have been $100 per tonne most of this month. That is down from $440 in late 2022. That makes coal a usually attractive solution as AI server farm demand soars.

Expect coal to make a major comeback. That is true, regardless of how detrimental it is to the environment.

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