Trump actions will hurt coal companies
President Trump’s recent executive order reversing President Obama’s climate policies will do nothing to increase the demand for coal while driving a stake into the heart of many Eastern coal companies and their miners. Numerous executives from both utilities and coal companies have stated that the availability and low price of natural gas is the primary reason for phasing out coal-fired power plants.
What will hurt coal companies in the East the most is President Trump’s lifting of Obama’s moratorium on leasing federal lands for coal mining. The federal lands with extensive coal deposits are almost exclusively in Western states. The large open pit mines in these areas are able to produce 10 times the tonnage per man hour compared to Eastern deep mines. This means that with more Western low sulfur coal production, the demand and price of Eastern coal can only go in one direction and that is down. Lower prices and less demand can only lead to more bankruptcies and layoffs.
Further hurting this group of people who solidly supported Trump is the elimination of virtually all money for job retraining and community development in the president’s proposed budget.
William Shader
Venetia