Coal production hits 30-year low; Central Appalachian production down 40% in 2015

Coal production in the U.S. reached a 30-year low in 2015, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration report released Friday, Bobby Magill reports for Climate Central. "Appalachian coal, produced mainly in West Virginia and Kentucky, was hit the hardest in 2015, falling 40 percent below the region’s annual production average between 2010 and 2014."

"Coal production has been trending downward since its peak at nearly 1.2 billion short tons in 2008, declining to 900 million short tons in 2015. Last year’s production declined 10 percent from 2014, according to the EIA," Magill writes. Low natural gas prices and President Obama's Clean Power Plan regulations to reduce carbon emissions are largely blamed for the drop in coal production. (EIA graphic)