U.S. Coal Consumption in 2018 is Lowest it’s been in 39 years

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced today that American coal consumption in 2018 is expected to be at its lowest level in the past 39 years. EIA’s announcement is of particular importance to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, which has helped retire more than 40 coal plants across the United States since Donald Trump was elected.

Since 2010, the campaign has successfully secured retirement of 281 coal plants, which is more than half of the United States’ working coal plants during that time period.

In response, Mary Anne Hitt, Senior Director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, released the following statement:

“Coal use is at its lowest level in nearly four decades and the Trump Administration can’t stop this country from continuing to move beyond coal. The EIA’s announcement shows major progress for communities across our country who’ve worked feverishly over the past decade to shift America away from dirty, expensive coal plants that poison their communities and add to the climate crisis. It’s also another repudiation of the Trump administration’s agenda, which has relentlessly attacked clean air safeguards, denied science, and peddled alternative facts just so its corporate polluter allies can make a buck.

“We are fighting to make sure our future will be a clean and prosperous one for every community, with workers from the fossil fuel industry treated fairly and transitioned to new economic opportunities, and with clean, renewable, and affordable wind and solar energy powering our homes and businesses. Today’s report show our efforts are working and that we must keep up the fight.”