Most U.S. Coal Is Uneconomical as Natural Gas Fattens Profits
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Coal is getting pummeled by natural gas as power generators find they make more money using the cleaner-burning fuel.
Some 90 percent of U.S. coal was uneconomical as a power-plant fuel after natural gas dropped near a three-year low this year, said Mark Levin, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Virginia. Coal’s share of the electricity market will fall to 36 percent in 2015 from about 50 percent in 2007, government estimates show.