Coal-fired electricity generation in the United States was lower than power generation from natural gas and nuclear plants in 2020, with coal dropping out of the top two electricity sources for the first time since at least 1949, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday. A nearly 30-percent reduction in coal-fired generating capacity and lower utilization of the remaining power plants since 2008 resulted in lower coal-fired electricity generation, which in 2020 was lower than nuclear, the EIA said. Last year, natural gas-fired power plants generated the largest volume of U.S. electricity, 1.6 billion megawatthours (MWh), while nuclear-powered generation came in second at 790 million MWh. Coal-fired electricity was third, generating 774 million MWh, data from EIA’s Electric Power Monthly showed. According to EIA data, U.S. coal production and consumption have been on a decline since peaking in 2008 and 2007, respectively. In 2019, for example, U.S. coal […]