The switch to natural gas from coal has some predicting a similar shift in the coming decades when new natural gas plants begin to age.
In Pennsylvania, some crypto-mining companies are taking advantage of incentives for burning waste coal and remediating former mineland.
More than 125 people will lose their jobs, and a labor leader cited Pa.’s expected entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative as a key factor. The plant’s CEO says “we did everything possible to maintain our operations.”
Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democratsā large climate and health care bill, included one provision aimed at helping miners afflicted by black lung disease.
In April, the commonwealth became theĀ first major fossil-fuel stateĀ to adopt a carbon-pricing policy.
EPA data showed the plant emitted 608,000 tons of carbon dioxide in 2020, the equivalent of 129,000 cars on the road.
Unburned coal piled up during the pandemic, creating a surplus. But surging demand, especially from the Asia-Pacific region, has eaten away at that supply.
The land previously housed a coal mine, but parts of it is now zoned residential and conservation. The company wants the township to rezone it for industrial use.Ā
Most of the land where the proposed mine would go is zoned for residential and conservation.
Federal investment in the cleanup of abandoned mines and wells will boost local economies, they say.
