Colorado Coal Production Continued Slide in 2014

As Colorado Legislature Attacks Clean Energy Standards, New Figures Show 20-year Low in Coal Mining

DENVER – As the Colorado Senate voted Tuesday to rollback state clean energy standards, the state’s mining agency reported that in 2014, coal mining fell to its lowest level since at least 1994.

“Unbelievably, as Colorado’s reliance on coal continues to dwindle, the Legislature is attacking the very clean energy standards that have helped fuel our state’s economic and environmental success,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’ Climate and Energy Program Director.  “Hitching our boat to a sinking fossil fuel industry may serve coal lobbyists, but it doesn’t serve Coloradoans.”

The state’s Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety reported that Colorado mines produced just under 23 million tons of coal in 2014, compared to 24.3 million tons in 2013, a drop of more than 5%.  The 2013 production level represented a 15% drop from 2012.

2014’s performance was the lowest in 20 years, according to data on the website of Colorado’s Geologic Survey.  Coal mined in the state last dropped below 23 million tons a year in 1993.  2014’s production was also 40% lower than 2004’s high of 39.8 million tons.

The report comes as the Colorado Senate voted yesterday to rollback state renewable energy standards.

Decreased production was largely due to drops in coal mined at three facilities – Bowie’s #2 Mine in Delta County, the Elk Creek Mine in Gunnison County (both in the North Fork Valley), and Routt County’s Foidel Creek mine.  All three are underground mines.  The Elk Creek mine closed in 2013 due to a fire in the coal seam, and Bowie announced layoffs late last year the Tennessee Valley Authority declined to renew its contract for coal to supply its power plants.  Colorado’s six other mines held steady or showed slight production gains.

Coal companies in general declining financially.  Yesterday, Arch Coal, which operates western Colorado’s West Elk mine, reported a loss in 2014 of more than $550 million.

The total number of miners employed statewide dropped from 1,857 in December 2013 to 1,512 in December 2014, a 19% reduction.  For comparison, the number of coal miners in Colorado is a little over half the number of employees working in the state for Vestas, the wind turbine manufacturer.  As of July 2014, Vestas employed more than 2,700 employees at its Colorado facilities.

Coal mined from Colorado is used in-state, across the country, and overseas, mostly to produce electricity.  Coal-fired power plants in Colorado every year release millions of tons of carbon pollution. 

In addition, some Colorado mines release large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  In 2013, methane pollution from Colorado mines released the equivalent of 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide, about the same as a small power plant.

Colorado coal mine production data can be found at:  http://mining.state.co.us/Reports/Reports/Pages/Coal.aspx.

Data displaying coal mined in Colorado between 1960 and 2010 is at: http://coloradogeologicalsurvey.org/energy-resources/coal-2/production/.


 

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