Mike O’Boyle, the director of Electricity Policy at Energy Innovation has released a study based on Energy Information Agency which shows that “the coal industry may likely to lose its grip sooner than in expected.”
“Studies show that it is possible for us to move faster and have coal-powered power plants closed and be replaced with solar or wind power plants. The fact that coal can now be replaced with more alternative sources of energy only reveals that people can live without it.”
US’s coal production has been declining more and more seeming almost inevitable as new renewable sources and technology are advancing day by day. It is being forecasted that 729 million tons shrink in the nation’s coal production by 2019, the lowest in the last 20 decades.
Coal power plants are becoming more and more expensive as compared to wind and solar energy generation. Apart from household energy production, coal exports for this year show a decline forecast of over 13.3%of the last year and over 7.9% decline predicted for 2019’s exports.
As almost half of all coal-fired power plants closed down, by 2025 US might be free from coal-based power generation and shifted to clean renewable resources like wind and solar which are getting more advanced and efficient every day.