October 18, 2025 - Energy Ventures Analysis, one of the leading energy research firms in the US, warned in their study of 2025 electricity issues: “As this extreme weather event and the others before it have shown, dispatchable, highly reliable generating resources like coal fired power plants are paramount to ensuring reliable and affordable electricity service to electric consumers across the United States”
The negative impacts of closing coal plants in the US are now self-evident, and the worst is yet to come. In the last decade, upwards of 300 coal power plants have ceased operation and coal-based generation has been reduced from 45% of electricity to 16%. (1) Reliability has decreased as there is overwhelming evidence that in virtually every polar vortex or cold event of the last 10 years, coal’s contribution has increased while solar and wind have not only faltered but have often been virtually non-existent. Natural gas has frequently underperformed since production was either frozen by weather (Texas) or gas was diverted away from power plants to heat homes and businesses (New England). (2) Families have suffered. In just the last 5 years residential electric rates have risen 33%--from 13.15 cents per kWh to 17.47 cents per kWh. In States which have abandoned coal altogether residential rates have exploded. In Massachusetts, for example, families pay a stunning 80% above the national average. (3) National security has been placed at risk as the US becomes ever more dependent on intermittent solar and wind and natural gas- the fuel with the greatest price volatility of all. Consider the 2025 Polar vortex in the PJM Interconnection: In December 2024, natural gas was about $1.90 per MM/Btu. When the vortex hit in January-February, gas prices exceeded $8.50 and spiked to $30. In sharp contrast, coal prices remained steady at about $2.50/MMBtu. (4) Finally, the electrification aspirations of the United States are now under the shadow of inadequate power sources to support not only artificial intelligence and its associated data centers but also reindustrialization, a resurgence of manufacturing, electric vehicles, and other emerging sources of power demand.
Yet, despite these real and present dangers, opponents simply ignore the importance of coal in maintaining system stability and affordable prices, proving that their elitist agenda is far removed from affordable and reliable electricity for American consumers. Consider the forces vociferously arrayed against coal:
Activists-- The Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign is funded by Michael Bloomberg who has committed over $500 million to “close all coal plants in the U.S.” and has led a campaign to install anti-coal lawyers in state attorney general offices across the country. These monies support over 200 lawyers, organizers, speakers and influencers who routinely show up at regulatory hearings on coal en masse, presenting the spurious image that the majority of the population opposes coal. This intimidation of regulators and other decision makers has been markedly successful.
Politicians seeking to make their bones by opposing coal are common. During Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, he declared one of his energy goals was to “bankrupt” the coal industry by making electricity prices “skyrocket.” That policy statement kick-started the continuing war on coal power plants, miners, their families and the millions of Americans who rely on affordable coal-fired electricity. Jason Stanek, Director of Government Services at PJM, the nation’s largest Regional Transmission Organization covering 13 states, has stated at least 60% of planned coal retirements are due to politics and only 8% are the result of economics.
Research Agencies: Here’s the short answer from AI on the Internet: “The National Science Foundation is unlikely to fund proposals that support the extraction or continued use of coal as a primary fuel source”. University researchers seeking to study the clean coal technologies that are being employed successfully in China will be sorely disappointed if they apply to NSF for support.
Utilities seeking to take advantage of federal subsidies for renewables and monies from the Inflation Reduction Act, have rushed to prematurely close their coal plants and cash in. The IRA offers utilities financing to cover the costs of shifting from coal to “renewables”. In one of the most egregious cases, Michigan’s Consumers Energy is opposing President Trump’s Executive Order to keep the 1,420 MW Campbell Plant open. This opposition comes despite the fact that in the 2025 Polar Vortex in Michigan, it was coal’s ability to dramatically increase power supply that avoided potentially fatal outages.
Media: The knee jerk reactions of the media to anything coal related are legion. When President Trump issued an Executive Order supporting coal, the ink had hardly dried before the wails from the Press began: “Trump wants ‘clean coal’ but there’s no such thing” - ABC News ; “Trump Administration plans to give dirty US coal plants a reprieve” -Reuters; “Trump gave the dying coal industry a lifeline”-Washington Post.
Competitors The natural gas industry set the dirty tricks ball rolling with Chesapeake’s “Face It, Coal is Filthy” Campaign replete with children with smudged faces apparently from the coal mines. Aubrey McClendon and his associates contributed $26 million to the Sierra Club to oppose the building of new coal-fired power plants. The American Gas Association has been more subtle but their argument that switching from coal to natural gas for electricity generation reduces greenhouse gas emissions is disingenuous to say the least since methane is carefully not mentioned. Methane is more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Further, the Cornell University Climate Initiative found: “Liquefied natural gas leaves a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% worse than coal, when processing and shipping are taken into account”
Artificial intelligence search sites—consider the response to the Question: “Does coal have a future in the United States?” Answer: “No, coal-based electricity does not have a significant future in the U.S.”
China- In June, Ted Cruz chaired a Senate Hearing titled “How Foreign Actors Are Undermining American Energy Independence,” Data were presented indicating the Energy Foundation China (EFC) has donated millions of dollars to U.S. advocacy groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in support of their litigation and messaging targeting the coal industry.
Final point: In 2014, the United States had about 300 GW of coal generating capacity. Today that capacity has been reduced to 170 GW and, based on current trends, it will be diminished to only 120 GW in the next five years. Earlier in the year the Department of Energy projected that by 2035 coal-based electricity would essentially be eliminated from the American energy landscape. The consequences are real and damaging to the American people. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright recently warned:” We are on a path to continually shrink the electricity we generate from coal, and that has made electricity more expensive and our grid less stable.”
Yet, myopic anti-coal extremists are so caught up in their crusade that they cavalierly dismiss the impact on families, the economy, national security and the overall welfare of the Nation – raising the question as to what are their goals anyway?
Despite this self-serving opposition the path to coal’s role in reliable and affordable electricity is clear: (1) Keep existing plants operating and increase their capacity factor by a stroke of the pen, (2) Recommission closed plants that were prematurely and unnecessarily retired and (3) Build new plants using the advanced clean coal technologies being successfully employed in other parts of the world, especially China (e.g. Supercritical and Ultra-Critical Combustion).
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Note: Coal is the Cornerstone seeks to give a voice to supporters of coal in its many dimensions and contributions. But we need help and ask like-minded individuals and companies supporting coal to make a financial contribution to the effort. Visit us and donate at http://www.coaliscornerstone.com. Access to all of our previous articles is available on this site. .………………………………………………………………………………………
Frank Clemente PhD. specializes in research on the socioeconomic impact of energy policy and is the author of The Global Value of Coal, published by the International Energy Agency (2012). Professor Clemente has served on the faculty of the University of Kentucky, University of Wisconsin and Penn State. He has extensive experience in speaking, writing and presenting data on the value of coal to the United States and the world. All opinions expressed here are presented independently from any university with which he has been affiliated.
Fred Palmer Esq. served as CEO of Western Fuels before he joined Peabody Energy as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs. Palmer was Chair of the World Coal Association Board and a member of the National Coal Council. He received the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers Award for “Distinguished Achievement in Coal Technology”. He also received a Statement of Appreciation from the National Coal Council in 2015 with a plaque for “Guidance since 1990
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