Coal-fired generation remained economically competitive across the central United States through early 2026, with stable coal pricing and rising electricity demand driving stronger returns for coal plants compared to natural gas generation. During Winter Storm Fern, volatile natural gas prices pushed power costs sharply higher, further highlighting coal’s role as a reliable and cost-stable source …
News Tag: United States
Coal tailings could solve United States’ need for rare earth elements
New research out of Northeastern University published in Environmental Science & Technology has discovered a new way to extract rare earth elements out of coal tailings. Using a chemical treatment and a specially designed microwave reactor to control the temperature, the researchers have doubled the extraction levels previously possible. …
Europe’s Electricity Prices Are Far Higher than Prices in the United States
In Europe, electricity prices are two to four times higher than in the United States, with the U.K.’s industrial electricity price 4.2 times higher and Germany’s residential electricity price 2.6 times higher. Business executives and some economists say much of the increase is due to the shift to intermittent renewables like wind and solar, which …
DOE Secretary Wright: Coal is Critical to Meeting Energy Demand
President Trump and his Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, want U.S. utilities to continue operating coal plants to help meet growing electricity demand, avoid blackouts, and keep the United States from deindustrializing as Germany has done with its energy transition to wind and solar power. …
Britain’s Disastrous Path to Net Zero Is a Warning to the U.S.
At last year’s U.N. climate conference in Dubai, the Biden administration agreed to triple the world’s renewable-energy capacity by 2030. It also joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, pledging to eliminate coal-powered generation. This is all part of President Biden’s goal to completely decarbonize the U.S. electrical grid by 2035 and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas …
