Nov 8, 2012 3 min read

John Pippy is fired up about coal. He’s burned up that more stringent regulations may be placed on it, and is concerned now that President Barack Obama has been re-elected.

“People are starting to realize that what has happened the last four years can mean to the future of coal,” Pippy said Wednesday night to a crowd of about 160 at the Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe.

He was the speaker at the Executive Insight Series presented by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. Pippy, of Moon Township, was a Republican state legislator for 16 years, the last nine as a senator. He quit June 30 to become chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, which started operations three weeks later.

Pippy spoke for 30 minutes while giving a PowerPoint presentation titled “Challenges & Opportunities that Face the Coal Industry.”

The alliance is a merger of the Families Organized to Represent the Coal Economy, which was based in Monessen, and the Pennsylvania Coal Association. It represents more than 250 companies and 41,000-plus workers, and its goal is to promote the industry in the state, stressing its economic importance while dispelling misinformation about the resource.

Natural gas has been growing into a major source for energy these days. It is cheap and abundant, especially now with the pervasive drilling of Marcellus Shale and other shale plays around the country. Wind and solar energy are touted frequently for their cleanliness.

Coal raises environmental concerns. The Environmental Protection Agency is considering further restrictions on it.

This year, six coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania have been targeted for shutdown, including one in Elrama.

Pippy, however, said that the “United States burns coal cleaner than anyone.”

He made the point that the U.S. is responsible for 19 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions each year, and that coal contributes only 7 percent of that total. Pippy displayed a chart, based on energy-related carbon dioxide emissions from 2008 to present day, that project the amount of emissions for certain countries through 2035.

At current rates, India, China and the Middle East would far outdistance the U.S. through 2035. Canada also would fare worse.

Pippy said that while coal is often under siege in the U.S., other countries are understanding the advantages.

“The rest of the world gets it,” he said. “The rest of the world is looking at coal.

“Coal is cheap, reliable and abundant. Without coal, most cities would be dark.”

The resource continues to be viable in Pennsylvania, Pippy said. During the PowerPoint, he pointed out that coal produces 44 percent of the state’s electricity and contributes $7 billion annually to its economy. Pennsylvania also is the largest net exporter of electricity among states.

Coal also feeds families. There are more than 49,000 coal-related jobs in the state, paying more than $2.2 billion.

Jeff Kotula can identify with family ties to that industry. The chamber president said his father, grandfather and great-garndfather were local miners.

“I grew up on the mean streets of Daisytown, where a lot of people have worked in the mines,” he said. “I support coal and the Washington County Chamber of Commerce supports coal.”

A longtime lawmaker, Pippy would like similar support from Washington – or at least less resistance from Obama, Congress and the EPA.

“We want to find ways to get everyone together on coal,” he said less than 24 hours after Election Day.

“We hope the president and the newly elected Congress can get together on this.”