US coal use falling fast; utilities switch to gas - Yahoo! Finance
America is shoveling coal to the sidelines.
The fuel that powered the U.S. from the
industrial revolution into the iPhone era is being pushed aside as
utilities switch to cleaner and cheaper alternatives.
The share of U.S. electricity that comes from
coal is forecast to fall below 40 percent for the year — the lowest
level since the government began collecting this data in 1949. Four
years ago, it was 50 percent. By the end of this decade, it is likely to
be near 30 percent.
"The peak has passed," says Jone-Lin Wang, head of Global Power for the energy research firm IHS CERA.
Utilities are aggressively ditching coal in favor of natural gas,
which has become cheaper as supplies grow. Natural gas has other
advantages over coal: It produces far fewer emissions of toxic chemicals
and gases that contribute to climate change, key attributes as tougher
environmental rules go into effect.
Natural gas will be used to produce 29 percent
of the country's electricity this year, up from 20 percent in 2008.
Nuclear accounts for 20 percent. Hydroelectric, wind, solar and other
renewables make up the rest.
Hmm UNG maybe a play here?
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