OP-ED: Pennsylvania coal makes a comeback
Pennsylvania has experienced a long and varied relationship with coal.
Bituminous (soft) coal was first mined in Pennsylvania at “Coal Hill” (Mount Washington), across the Monongahela River from the city of Pittsburgh. By 1830, Pittsburgh consumed more than 400 tons of bituminous coal per day for domestic and light-industrial use. As the industrial revolution gained momentum, the anthracite coalfields, or “hard coal” of eastern Pennsylvania, captured new markets.
Bituminous coal contains more volatile matter and moisture than anthracite. It generates more smoke and ash when burned. In recent years, bituminous has been used primarily as fuel for electric power generation and in industrial manufacturing. Today, bituminous mining operations remain active in 21 counties in Southwest Pennsylvania.
Because it is nearly pure carbon, anthracite is hard to ignite. It burns slowly, longer, and cleaner than bituminous coal. Historically, anthracite was used for residential and commercial heating. Its modern usages focus on metallurgy, and water filtration as activated carbon. It is most often the type exported to other countries. Pennsylvania’s anthracite region is located in six counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania. This area contains the only reserves of anthracite coal in the United States.
As recently as 2022, Pennsylvania remained the third largest coal-producing state in the nation. According to coal.org, in Pennsylvania the coal industry supported over 17,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributed billions of dollars to the state’s economy.
Since 1938, we have known that there was a dark side to using coal. When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases trap heat and cause global warming. Global temperatures passed the critical 1.5 degrees celsius milestone for the first time in 2024. Warming above that temperature risks further sea level rise, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, species extinction, and food scarcity. Scientists believe that continued warming will result in worsening health and poverty for millions.
Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel of them all and is the single largest source of global temperature rise. Pound for pound, coal emits more carbon dioxide than any other fossil fuel, generating roughly 40% of global emissions from fossil fuel use.
In an effort to clean up the environment and combat global warming, federal regulations have consistently reduced coal use by enforcing stricter limits on pollution. For decades, these rules, combined with market shifts toward cheaper natural gas and renewable energy, accelerated the retirement of aging coal-fired power plants.
EPA standards under the Clean Air Act require existing coal-fired power plants that operate after 2039 to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 90%. Retrofitting with carbon capture and storage is extremely expensive. Many utilities planned to retire these plants rather than comply.
In addition to the environmental concerns, until recently, several other factors hastened the death knell of the coal industry in Southwestern Pennsylvania. First, plentiful natural gas became the dominant energy source. Hydraulic fracking in the Marcellus Shale made natural gas far cheaper and easier to access. Second, for those utilities that still required coal, bituminous supply in the Western States was far cheaper to mine.
Within the last 18 months, the prospects for coal have dramatically changed for the better. It started when Trump returned to office. By executive order in April 2025, Trump implemented several aggressive administrative and regulatory actions to revive the coal industry. He cited national security and rising energy demand.
The Trump administration’s core actions since 2025 have included (1) using “emergency authority” to prevent coal fired power plants from shutting down, (2) designating coal as a critical mineral and reversing mining restrictions, (3) providing federally backed financial subsidies to support the coal industry, and (4) reestablishing The National Coal Council to lobby for the industry.
Two current events have helped to support the president’s initiatives and have lowered opposition. Energy demand from AI and cloud data centers provided a lifeline to the coal industry. By overwhelming regional power grids, these energy “hogs” have compelled utilities to delay the retirement of aging coal-fired power plants to maintain reliable electricity.
More recently, the war in Iran has triggered a massive supply shock. Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz choked off vital Middle Eastern gas exports. Vulnerable nations were forced to restart mothballed plants and burn coal to keep their electricity grids operating.
In light of the power supply crisis, Gov. Josh Shapiro has also taken action to keep Pennsylvania coal operations alive. He has supported an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. This policy balances the concerns of environmentalists with energy grid reliability and economic growth. For the immediate future, he has taken steps to keep coal-fired power plants online.
Following the Trump presidency and the abatement of the factors that have increased the need for fossil fuels, what does the future of coal look like?
According to the think tank Energy Innovation, “Coal-fired power cannot compete economically with clean energy and will continue to lose market share across the United States.”
Most energy experts agree that the probable long-term future for coal is a steady, structural decline in power generation, driven by the rollout of cheaper renewables and stricter emissions policies.
Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.