Coal mining in the United States

See also: Coal power in the United States

Total US coal production graph
Total US coal production, 1870–2018
Historical coal production of different countries

Coal mining is an industry in transition in the United States. Production in 2019 was down 40% from the peak production of 1,171.8 million short tons (1,063 million metric tons) in 2008. Employment of 43,000 coal miners is down from a peak of 883,000 in 1923.[1] Generation of electricity is the largest user of coal, being used to produce 50% of electric power in 2005 and 27% in 2018.[2] The U.S. is a net exporter of coal. U.S. coal exports, for which Europe is the largest customer, peaked in 2012.[3] In 2015, the U.S. exported 7.0 percent of mined coal.[4]

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2015, Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, and Pennsylvania produced about 639 million short tons (580 million metric tons), representing 71% of total coal production in the United States.[5]

In 2015, four publicly traded U.S. coal companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, including Patriot Coal Corporation, Walter Energy, and the fourth-largest Alpha Natural Resources. By January 2016, more than 25% of coal production was in bankruptcy in the United States[6] including the top two producers Peabody Energy[7][8] and Arch Coal.[6][9] When Arch Coal filed for bankruptcy protection, the price of coal had dropped 50% since 2011[10] and it was $4.5 billion in debt.[6][10] On October 5, 2016, Arch Coal emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[11] In October 2018, Westmoreland Coal Company filed for bankruptcy protection.[12][13][14] On May 10, 2019, the third largest U.S. coal company by production, Cloud Peak Energy, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[15] On October 29, 2019, Murray Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[16]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "EIA – Electricity Data". eia.gov. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "U.S. coal exports increased by 61% in 2017 as exports to Asia more than doubled – Today in Energy – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". eia.gov.
  4. ^ U.S. coal exports fall on lower European demand, increased global supply, US Energy Information Administration, October 3, 2014.
  5. ^ "Which states produce the most coal?". EIA. February 28, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Tracy Rucinski (January 10, 2016). "Arch Coal files for bankruptcy, hit by mining downturn". Reuters.
  7. ^ "Peabody Energy Chapter 11 Petition" (PDF). PacerMonitor. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  8. ^ "Top coal miner Peabody files for bankruptcy". The Sydney Morning Herald. April 13, 2016. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  9. ^ Matthew Brown; Mead Gruver (March 28, 2017). "How Trump's executive order will affect coal industry". Billings Gazette. Associated Press. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  10. ^ a b John W. Miller; Peg Brickley (January 11, 2016), "Arch Coal files for Bankruptcy", The Wall Street Journal
  11. ^ Chaney, Sarah (October 5, 2016). "Arch Coal Emerges from Chapter 11". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Westmoreland Enters into Restructuring Support Agreement with Members of Ad Hoc Lending Group; WMLP Simultaneously Files Chapter 11 to Sell Assets". westmoreland.com. Westmoreland Coal Company. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  13. ^ Kilgore, Tomi (October 9, 2018). "Coal producer Westmoreland Resource Partners files for bankruptcy". MarketWatch. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  14. ^ "Westmoreland Coal Company files for bankruptcy protection". Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  15. ^ "Third-Biggest U.S. Coal Company Files for Bankruptcy". Flathead Beacon. May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  16. ^ "Murray Energy News: Coal Miner Goes Bust as Trump Rescue Fails". Bloomberg.com. October 29, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.