Less Coal and More Natural Gas is Decreasing US Emissions

We are seeing less emissions from power plants in the US because more energy is being generated by natural gas plants and less energy is being produced by coal fired plants. Coal fired plants decreased to their lowest level in almost four decades, but the decline is largely attributable to an increase in natural gas. Cheap natural gas was at its lowest price point in 10 years this winter. This shift to cleaner-burning fuels like natural gas has helped public power systems to reduce their overall emissions.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) the share of electricity generated from coal-fired power plants dropped to 34 percent in March, the lowest level in at least 39 years. Coal generation decreased 29 billion kilowatt hours from March 2011 to March 2012, while natural generation increased 27 billion kilowatt hours during the same period.

A May 2012 report from Target Rock Advisors indicates that carbon emissions have been reduced by 2.4 percent since 2001, despite a 9.4 percent increase in power generation.

ExxonMobil recently predicted that natural gas will overtake coal by 2025 to become the second most widely used source of energy worldwide. However fracking is an increasingly common method of accessing natural that is highly controversial because of its environmental impacts. While newer natural gas-fired plants emit less carbon than old coal powered plants; when extraction and transportation are factored into the equation natural gas has a net emissions profile that is highly questionable.