Analysts believe natural gas overtook coal as the top electricity source in the U.S. in 2015, Reuters reports. Data from the Energy Information Administration show power plants used more natural gas than coal in five of the first 10 months of 2015, including July, August, September and October. Statistics are not yet available for November and December, but the trend seems unlikely to reverse given the recent spate of coal-fired power plant retirements and the lowest natural gas prices in 16 years.
The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan, which was finalized in August, is likely to force even more coal-fired power plants to shut down in the years to come. In the October 2015 issue of BIC Magazine, John B. King of Brazeale, Sachse & Wilson noted that the plan’s rules for coal and natural gas units are designed to force construction of the latter.
MORE POWER GENERATION: Obama Administration to halt new coal leases, review royalty rates
