Coal Use Declined in Almost Every State from 2007 to 2015

According to data released by the Energy Information Administration, the demand for coal in the power sector has fallen in nearly every state since 2007. Alaska and Nebraska were the only exceptions.

All told, consumption of coal for electricity generation in the U.S. electric power sector fell from a peak of over 1 billion short tons to an estimated 0.7 billion short tons between 2007-2015. At the same time, natural gas consumption rose across a number of states, including many of those with the steepest coal declines.

In Ohio and Pennsylvania, coal use for power generation decreased by 49% and 44%, respectively. In the Southeast, coal consumption dropped by half in Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama. Four states – Idaho, Vermont, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia – do not use coal for power generation within their state borders, according to the EIA.