By Frank Clemente and Fred Palmer; Coal is the Cornerstone LLC

June 22, 2025 - Our Mission. Coal is America’s greatest energy resource, but coal and its associated industries are under relentless attack. The EIA projects that by 2035, coal will produce less than one percent of electricity and only have 3 GW of capacity compared to about 175 GW today. In other words, in just 10 years, reliable and affordable baseload coal will be wiped from the US energy landscape. All this in the context that the US faces unprecedented electricity demand over the coming decades.  Meanwhile, China and India are greatly expanding their baseload coal fleets to accommodate rising demand from AI, Data Centers and rapidly increasing societal electrification. 

We formed Coal is the Cornerstone, Inc. to give voice to supporters of coal in its many dimensions and contributions. Coal has been demonized to the point where few individuals or organizations now speak in favor of its use. The media and other anti-coal special interest groups hold sway. Consider the following headlines just since the Trump Administration announced support for coal: Sierra Club: “We want to close all US coal plants”; Reuters: “Trump Administration plans to give dirty US coal plants a reprieve”; The Washington Post: “Trump gave the dying coal industry a lifeline”; ABC: “Trump wants ‘clean coal’ but there’s no such thing”   

These unfounded exaggerations are legion in the press, television and social media. Yet, the coal industry has not developed a viable response to coherently delineate the continuing contributions coal makes to the lives of virtually every human being in the US, Europe and throughout the globe. Energy is the sine qua non of modern life, and coal has been, is, and continues to be our most important source of energy. From electricity to steel to cement to communication, coal is the fundamental cornerstone of contemporary civilization, and the US has 27% of the world’s coal. 

Nevertheless, the coal industry is in a fight for its life. In 2021, Joe Biden disbanded the National Coal Council with impunity. The regulatory assault on coal has been ongoing for 15 years. Since 2010, coal production has dropped from 1,085 Million tons to 481 as hundreds of mines closed.  Over 300 coal power plants have been retired, most prematurely.  Electricity from coal has declined from 45% of power to 16% as coal plants have been required to reduce their output. Tens of thousands of miners and related workers have lost their jobs. Communities and families have been devastated.  And the worst is yet to come. 

Our primary goal is education and to systematically get data on the value of coal into the hands of individuals and companies who want to support the industry whether it be in private or public conversation, meetings, conferences, hearings, media outlets, editorials, letters to the editor, classrooms, testimony or debates. The facts regarding the benefits of coal are real and compelling but mean little if not widely and regularly distributed. Our weekly column in CoalZoom (https://www.coalzoom.com/index.cfm) is an example of our work and is routinely republished in RealClear Energy as well as LinkedIn where our roster of almost 4,500 readers is steadily growing . We continue to aggressively expand our profile to other media outlets, direct mailings, presentations, testimony prep and consulting.  

We need help in making the case for coal. The forces arrayed against coal are huge, powerful and heavily funded. Increasing the visibility of coal in the public domain will be costly. We have extensive experience in the coal industry and our mutual commitment to coal advocacy runs strong and deep. But we need resources to get this endeavor off the ground and ask like-minded individuals and companies supporting coal to make a financial contribution to Coal is the Cornerstone, Inc. Visit us at http://www.coaliscornerstone.com. Please contact Fred Palmer (vapalmers@aol.com) for details as to how you can support the fight for coal.We are glad to answer any questions or travel to companies seeking to join the effort. The US Energy Information Administration projects coal power will essentially disappear from the American energy portfolio in less than a decade. If we don’t stand up now it will be too late. Please contribute to our efforts.   

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Frank Clemente PhD Is Professor Emeritus at Penn State University. He 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 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 the University.

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”.