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Coal use diminishing

By Rick Shrum 5 min read
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Tracks wind their way through the Enlow Fork Mine to H-3 longwall.
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A shear cuts coal from the side of the H-3 longwall at Enlow Fork Mine.
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H side longwall shearer operator Chad McKenzie.
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Coal on a conveyor belt.

Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of stories reflecting on 20 years of gas drilling in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Coal is surviving, but it has an environmental black eye.

This bountiful underground resource, the major source of energy in the United States until the 1950s, is no longer the coveted power generator it once was. It is a fossil fuel that, when burned, yields emissions into the air that can contribute to respiratory illnesses. Burning it also produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that can accelerate global warming.

The black rock was recently bypassed on the U.S. energy grid by two clean, sustainable sources. Solar and wind power in June leapfrogged coal in electricity generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

But the source that probably has had the largest impact on coal’s decline is natural gas, which is affordable, readily available and perhaps inexhaustibly abundant.

Natural gas likewise emits carbon dioxide, but according to EIA’s website, “is a relatively clean-burning fossil fuel.” And in gas-rich Southwestern Pennsylvania, it seems to be everywhere.

The successful drilling of Renz Well in Mt. Pleasant Township in 2004 kick started what is generally referred to as the shale revolution. The Marcellus Shale is the second-largest natural gas field in the world, extending from New York State west to Kentucky and south to Virginia.

The nation, accordingly, increased its oil and gas production, which has not benefited the coal industry. Yet it perseveres.

“Coal as a power source has declined, but we’re still relevant,” said Rachel Gleason, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, the Harrisburg-based legislative and regulatory arm of the industry. “It is the third-largest coal-producing state.”

The alliance oversees more than 150 member companies, all in the bituminous coal industry. Gleason’s duties include interacting with elected officials and state and federal regulators.

Consol Energy is one of those companies, and its signature operation is gargantuan. The Southpointe-based firm, led by CEO Jimmy Brock, runs the Pennsylvania Mining Complex, the largest underground coal mine complex in North America. Consol has about 1,200 employees.

It sits in Greene and Washington counties, and is made up of the Bailey, Enlow Fork and Harvey mines. Consol also has a central preparation plant and train loadout facility there, plus a large marine terminal in Baltimore.

Coal shipments from the Maryland facility to international markets resumed in late May, two months after it was shut down following the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

A publicly owned company, Consol produces and exports bituminous thermal and crossover metallurgical coal. Met coal, as it is commonly referred, is used to produce coke, an integral element in the steelmaking process.

“There is not a lot of coking coal in the United States,” Gleason said. “We are incredibly blessed to have coking coal that is used for steelmaking. Clairton has the largest coke batteries in the United States. … The entire U.S. Steel complex is very important for our industry.”

She said Consol’s “production is consistent as coal plants shutter.” Coal-fired power plants have been closing in Pennsylvania over the past decade. Gleason said only two remain, and one is scheduled for closing in 2028.

Coal, however, remains an integral part of the PJM grid, supplying 16% of the energy, according to Gleason. PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the flow of wholesale electricity to all or parts of 13 states, plus the District of Columbia. Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio are among those states.

When the energy supply is down, the grid is stressed and power outages could result. Coal then could contribute more to the grid. Gleason said, “Coal can come in and save the day when other sources are not available.”

She said “PJM is stressed,” but is projected to be OK until 2026. “Some of the challenges are being addressed.”

The southwestern-most corner of Pennsylvania has a longtime heritage in coal. For decades, that was an integral part of many people’s lives there. Mines meant jobs in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, and coal meant heating homes and unrelated buildings and helping to power other industries.

Coal was discovered in Washington County in the early 1800s, and commercial mining began there about 20 years later, in appropriately named Coal Center.

Large-scale mining gained momentum in Greene in 1891 when coal lands were purchased along the Monongahela River. Settlers used “drift mining” to access coal along creeks and the Mon, usually for personal use.

Two horrific explosions have occurred at Greene County mines: one at Mather in 1928 that killed 194 miners, the other at USSteel’s Robena No. 3 Mine in Monongahela Township that cost 37 miners their lives on Dec. 6, 1962. A memorial service is held at the Robena Monument every Dec. 6.

The Bituminous Coal Historical Marker sits prominently at the Fayette County Courthouse on Main Street, Uniontown.

The coal industry has experienced change, but is still relevant.

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