Reductions in revenue for Montana libraries because of cuts in coal severance taxes are prompting cutbacks in money spent on research databases, forcing some people to rely on the internet because libraries are losing access to scholarly articles.

The Montana State Library was told earlier this year it would lose $46,000 in expected tax revenue for the current 2015-17 budget. Another $166,000 was cut in May.

Over several months of 2015, the market share of natural gas generation exceeded that of coal-fueled generation as a combination of mild heating season weather and retirement of coal plants nudged natural gas into the lead position toward the end of the year. With coal retirements largely behind, and cheap natural gas ahead, what production levels face the restructured coal markets?

A decline in coal mining jobs contributed to rising unemployment in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

"The coal mining in Greene County has been reduced considerably," said Ashley Yanchunas, industry and business analyst at the state Department of Labor and Industry in Harrisburg. "There were more layoffs in 2015 in that county, in that industry."

Two investors are betting they can make a profit from coal by burning hardly any of it.

Daniel Kretinsky, 40, and Patrik Tkac, 43, are trying to capitalize on Europe’s rapid expansion into renewables by embracing the fuel, a mainstay of European energy before efforts to curb global warming, in its new role as a backup for when the wind dies down and the sun fails to shine.

Now what? That’s the question many are asking after the U.S. Supreme Court rightly decided to put the brakes on President Obama’s so-called "Clean Power Plan."

By placing a stay on implementation of the President’s carbon rule, the Court temporarily removed States from the EPA’s regulatory crosshairs. Unfortunately, the Court’s decision to grant a stay does not mean that these potentially devastating carbon regulations are dead in the water.

Jason Hayes, associate director of the American Coal Council was recently interviewed on Fox Business’ "After the Bell" with David Asman. David asked Jason about the impacts of federal regulation on the U.S. coal industry and its ability to compete in energy markets.

North Dakota researchers and industry are aiming to apply agriculture practices to coal mine reclamation.

Soil compaction, often resulting from heavy equipment, is one of the biggest challenges mining companies seek to remedy during any reclamation project.

I was concerned to see "Wall Street’s Retreat From King Coal," the New York Times Editorial Board’s March 27, 2016 account of market and regulatory factors affecting coal, its characterization of coal’s environmental performance, and its criticism of Senator Mitch McConnell’s defense of the U.S. coal industry.

Severe energy market pressures are not limited to coal. Oil, natural gas, and coal have all been impacted by a tepid economy and slow growth in energy demand. A mild winter and the continuation of oversupplied energy markets have added to these pressures.

Domestic energy use dropped slightly between 2014 and 2015, according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Overall, the nation’s energy usage dropped about one half of one percent, from 98.2 quadrillion British thermal units in 2014 to 97.7 in 2015.

EIA data shows natural gas and petroleum were the major sources of energy in the U.S last year, supplying 35.4 percent and 28.3 percent, respectively. Coal came in a distant third, providing 15.7 percent of the nation's energy.

European coal prices surged to the highest in 10 months, buoyed by rising fuel prices and supply disruptions.

Coal for delivery to northwest Europe next year gained for a ninth day on Monday, adding 3.2 percent to the highest since August 7, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg. The fuel has rallied 50 percent since February, when it plunged to the lowest since at least 2007.

In his April 22 editorial, "We’re getting out of fossil fuels investments," Rockefeller Brothers Fund CEO Stephen Heintz attempts to make the case that getting out of fossil fuel investments was good for his fund and its investors. His reasons for making the divestment decision require readers to accept his several unsubstantiated claims about coal and fossil fuels.