The Environmental Protection Agency's rewrite of the Clean Power Plan will do little to halt a nationwide shift away from coal and toward cheaper electricity generated by wind, sun and natural gas.
The Trump administration's much-anticipated rule to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan may not be the long-term boost for coal that some hoped it would be, analysts say.
In 2018, the consumption of coal hit a four-decade low in the United States. A total of 19 coal-fired plants closed last year, making for one of the largest waves of such retirements in the single year.
By 2019, a federal energy report forecasts, natural gas will provide 34 percent of U.S. electricity and coal 28 percent — making gas the top fuel for electricity generation, a role held by coal as recently as 2015.
