The American people are paying a huge price for politically driven decisions to abandon the fuel that built the nation. The data are clear, coal keeps electricity prices at a reasonable level, enhances reliability, supports national security and keeps the wolf from the door in times of extreme weather events. The cost of abandoning coal falls on virtually every family, business and institution in the U.S. and can be measured along three fronts:
Price of electricity. Coal kept the cost of electricity at an affordable level for over a century but idealistic policy decisions to close to 300 coal plants in the last 15 years have opened the door for higher and more volatile electricity prices. In 2010, the price of electricity in the U.S. was about 11 cents per kilowatt hour. By 2026 the price of electricity has increased 75% to 19 cents. And, according to the Department of Energy, rates could increase another 40% in the next four years. Meanwhile coal generation has dropped from 45% of America’s power to barely 16% today and is projected to decline another 50% by 2030. In statistics this is called an inverse correlation. Simply put, the more we reduce coal generation the more we will pay for electricity. It is a sad irony that the very people who were instrumental in prematurely closing efficient coal plants, now whine about increases in the cost of electricity.
In Massachusetts, a state that eliminated every coal plant in the last decade, the price of electricity is 30 cents per kWh second only to California. Yet Governor Maura Healy blames high rates on President Trump. Speaking of California, where coal plants were cavalierly abandoned by the state’s pie in the sky energy policies, rates have increased to an astounding 35 cents per kWh. Nevertheless, Governor Newsome ingenuously laments that “electricity rates have gone up – great work Donald Trump.” Hypocrisy knows no bounds in the war on coal. Policymakers from these states are simply not held accountable for failed energy policies so their failures continue to haunt American families year after year.
Isaac Orr, Mitch Rolling and Sarah Montalbano document all these issues in their essay “Blue States, High Rates:”
“California, has become a poster child for the ballooning costs of an electric grid that is increasingly reliant on wind, solar, and battery storage… California being the first adopter of many of the worst blue state policies, is showing the rest of the U.S. where those mandates lead.” Yet, despite an overwhelming array of physical evidence policymakers in dozens of states are closing coal in favor of intermittent renewables that cost more and only work part of the time.
Reliability. First, let’s establish the stark reality of coal’s contribution to American Society during crises over the last decade:
2014 – Polar Vortex Coal provided the majority of electricity but, even more importantly, coal power increased 92% YOY to meet the load. Oil increased 12%, Wind 9% and Nuclear 7%. Natural gas (NG) generation decreased 6% YOY and Hydro declined 15%. Solar was irrelevant.
2019 – “Cold Event” In the PJM region (65 million people) coal power led all fuels at 37% of electricity. All renewables combined contributed only 7% of electricity. In the MISO region (45 million people), coal provided 50 % of electricity and operated at 73 % of installed capacity.
2021 – Winter Storm Uri impacted much of the U.S. In the MISO grid, which stretches across 15 states and Manitoba, coal-based generation surged 36 percent and met almost 50% of demand. Solar power was virtually non-existent, and MISO reported that “output from wind generation was low throughout the duration of the event.” NG prices increased from less than $3 per MMBTU to as much as $700.
2024 – Winter storm Energy Ventures Analysis (EVA) reported coal-fired power plants showed the most significant increase in utilization rates: “Wind generation faced challenges… while solar generation was entirely or almost entirely absent.” Further, EVA concluded: “Higher shares of solar facilities and fewer dispatchable resources likely would have resulted in widespread power outages “.
2025 – Polar Vortex – Demand across the East, Midwest, and South reached 537 GW in January – the highest ever recorded and approximately 150 GW above average. Per EVA, coal-fired generation “played a vital role” as capacity factors reached 70%. At peak demand, wind and solar were only able to generate 3% and .0.2% of the electricity to meet the load. NG prices spiked to $30/MMBtu compared to coal’s $2.50. EVA estimated coal saved customers up to $1.4 billion.
2026 Polar Vortex – The DOE found “as Winter Storm Fern affected significant portions of the country, coal-fired electricity generation increased 31%. .. while generation from solar, wind, and hydropower declined. Grid operators can call upon the coal fleet to increase electricity generation in extreme weather events and other times when demand surges or output falls from other generation sources”
National Security. Energy is the foundation of national security and coal has been, is, and will continue to be the cornerstone of that foundation. The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines energy security as “The uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price.” In that context, no other energy source in the world can stand against coal.
The four major components of energy security are (1) availability, (2) accessibility, (3) affordability and (4) sustainability. Coal in the U.S. has a demonstrated track record of reliably meeting all four of these criteria. In terms of availability, the U.S. has the largest recoverable coal reserves in the world, estimated at around 250 billion short tons, enough to last over 400 years at current production levels. These vast reserves are readily accessible with significant deposits distributed across 20 states and an established transportation system to reach every corner of the country. Coal has proven affordability and the low energy prices it creates enabled American businesses to move to the center of the world’s economic stage. Finally, coal is sustainable through each of the above but especially the abundance of domestic reserves through that will last for centuries.
The idea that coal-based energy can be sustainably replaced by other sources in a period of unprecedented rising demand for electricity is a myopic policy built on a shaky collection of hypotheses, idealism, political suasion and wishful thinking. Rather, coal is the fuel most capable of meeting an uncertain energy future in an ever more dangerous international environment. An environment where China controls over 75% of solar panel production and almost 80% of the silicon needed to produce them. Where China has 60% of the world’s turbine production capacity compared to 19% in Europe and less than 10% in the U.S. Where Large battery energy storage systems (BESS) are increasingly important in stabilizing America’s energy grids, but the U.S. relies heavily on Chinese imports for BESS. And in terms of Artificial Intelligence, China has filed 70% of all AI patents globally as of the latest Stanford HAI 2026 data, and Chinese inventors account for 60% of total global AI patent holdings, China is building the most robust, affordable and reliable electricity supply system in the world – and it is anchored by coal.
Conclusion. the U.S. needs more coal generation, not less. This expansion should take place along several dimensions: (1) Keep existing plants operating and, where possible, increase their capacity, (2) Recommission recently closed plants that were prematurely retired and (3) Build new plants using the advanced clean coal technologies being successfully employed in other parts of the world (e.g. Supercritical Combustion) and even in the U.S. (e.g. Prairie State in Illinois)
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 to help support the effort at http://www.coaliscornerstone.com. Access to our previous articles is available on this site.
Frank Clemente PhD. specializes in the socio-economic impact of energy policy and is author of The Global Value of Coal published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) as well as numerous articles in energy journals and reports for the National Coal Council. Professor Clemente has served on the faculty at the University of Kentucky, the University of Wisconsin and Penn State. His work is presented independently from any University affiliation.
Fred Palmer Esq. has served as CEO of Western Fuels and Peabody Energy’s Senior Vice President for Government Affairs. He chaired the World Coal Association Board and was a member of the National Coal Council. He received the American Institute of Mining Award for “Distinguished Achievement in Coal Technology”. He also was awarded a Statement of Appreciation from the National Coal Council in 2015 with a plaque for “Guidance since 1990.”
This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.
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[ H/T WorldNetDaily ]
