The U.S. is about to hold the government's biggest coal sales in over a decade even as demand wanes. 'Eventually coal will get pushed out of the market' | Fortune

"U.S. officials in the coming days are set to hold the government's biggest coal sales in more than a decade, offering 600 million tons from publicly owned reserves next to strip mines in Montana and Wyoming. The sales are a signature piece of President Donald Trump's ambitions for companies to dig more coal from federal lands and burn it for electricity. Yet most power plants served by those mines plan to quit burning coal altogether within 10 years, an Associated Press data analysis shows."

"Three other mines poised for expansions or new leases under Trump also face declining demand as power plants use less of their coal and in some cases shut down, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the nonprofit Global Energy Monitor. Those market realities raise a fundamental question about the Republican administration's push to revive a heavily polluting industry that long has been in decline: Who's going to buy all that coal?"

Officials will hold the largest federal coal sales in more than a decade, offering 600 million tons from public reserves adjacent to strip mines in Montana and Wyoming. The leases are in the Powder River Basin, the most productive U.S. coal fields. The administration is pushing for increased coal extraction and use, but most power plants served by those mines plan to stop burning coal within ten years, reducing demand. Three other mines slated for expansions or new leases also face declining markets as plants retire or use less coal. Burning coal from the two leases would emit over one billion tons of CO2.

Read at Fortune