Decline in U.S. Coal Consumption, But Why?
From The Hill:Nuclear-powered electricity generation surpassed coal-fired generation for the first time on record last year, according to a new analysis.
Warmer-than-average temperatures and a reduction in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic combined to reduce natural gas prices last year, while temporary closures of coal mines led coal-powered electricity prices to spike. Those factors meant natural gas was more cost-competitive than coal last year, causing a drop in coal use.
Here’s just one more reminder that the real driver behind the decline in coal consumption is essentially blind luck, i.e., unforeseeable diseases, seasonal weather, and the vagaries of market conditions. Considering that so many people are working so hard to ensure this planet can still support a robust human population 100 years hence, it’s ironic that the battle may be in the process of being won, but for reasons that are almost completely independent of the work we’re doing.
They say it’s better to be lucky than good; hard to know how else to respond.
