Output of US coal in the first five months of this year fell nearly one-third from the same period in 2019, continuing a trend that saw last year's production of the fossil fuel hit the lowest level in more than four decades, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2020) Output of US coal in the first five months of this year fell nearly one-third from the same period in 2019, continuing a trend that saw last year's production of the fossil fuel hit the lowest level in more than four decades, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Tuesday.
"The decline of US coal production so far in 2020 reflects less demand for coal internationally and less generation from US coal-fired power plants. US coal exports through May 2020 are 29 percent lower than during the first five months of 2019," the report said.
In 2019, US coal production totaled 706 million short tons (MMst), a 7 percent decrease from the 756 MMst mined in 2018. Last year's production was the lowest amount of coal produced in the United States since 1978, when a coal miners' strike halted most of the country's coal production from December 1977 to March 1978," the release added.
However, EIA forecast a modest production rebound of 7% in 2021, when rising natural gas prices may cause some coal-fired electric power plants to become more economical to operate.
Analysts attribute much of the grim 2020 projection to a drop in global demand for coal due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.� However, the EIA report also underscored the impact of utilities switching from coal to cleaner burning natural gas.
In 2019, US electricity generated by burning coal fell to a 42-year low, decreasing nearly 16 percent from the previous year, followed by another 34 percent drop through May 2020, according to the report.
