Research Corner: Why Coal Mines Close
View on Axios website"Food for thought: Newly published research seeks to disentangle the reasons why large numbers of Appalachian coal mines have closed since 2002, and conclude that power market competition from gas is a relatively small piece of the puzzle.
Why it matters: The study, published via the environmental think tank Resources For the Future (RFF), signals why Trump administration officials face major challenges in their efforts to revive the mining sector in eastern states by curbing environmental rules and proposals to alter electricity market conditions.
In their words: 'We find that rising production costs explain about two-thirds of the observed coal mine closures caused by declining profits between 2002 and 2012. Natural gas prices and reduced electricity consumption independently explain about one-third of the closures,' the paper states."
