Coal Sector Lost 49,000 Jobs 2008-2012

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - The coal industry has become the biggest loser in America's shift in power generation, shedding almost 50,000 jobs in the five years between 2008 and 2012.

New research shows that the while the coal industry lost more than 49,000 jobs -- or 12% of its total workforce - in that short period, the natural gas, solar and wind energy industries together created nearly four times that number of jobs.

The findings from Duke University in its "Employment Trends in the U.S. Electricity Sector, 2008-2012" study highlight the impact of the rapidly changing electricity mix in the U.S..

Between 2008--2012, electricity generated from coal -- the long-time dominant fuel for electric power -- dropped by 24%. At the same time electricity generated from natural gas, wind and solar grew by 39%, 154%, and 400%, respectively. Jobs in those sectors grew by more than 220,000 people, or 21%. Those job increases in the natural gas, solar and wind industries generally did not occur where there were significant job losses in the coal industry, particularly in West Virginia and Kentucky.

The study used a wide variety of data sources to reach its conclusions . These included comparing published ratios for jobs per unit of fuel production and per megawatt of power plant capacity with site-specific data on fuel production and power plant retirements, additions and capacity changes to estimate and map direct job changes at the county level.

"Our study shows it has not been a one-for-one replacement," said senior author Lincoln Pratson, Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. "The counties that were very reliant on the coal industry are now in the most difficult position."

The regions that experienced the largest energy job increases were the Northeast, Southwest, Midwest and West. Regions that experienced the greatest job losses overall were Appalachia, the Uinta Basin of Utah and Colorado, and parts of the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming.

Geography played a role in why coal-reliant areas did not experience a boom in renewable energy jobs.

Pratson explained. "The areas where a lot of coal is mined in Appalachia, for example, are very rugged and heavily forested -- not easy places to set up solar panels or wind farms."

Co-author, Drew Haerer, also highlighted how the availability of state incentives for renewable energy also had an impact.

"States with incentives have more growth," he said. "The southeast is incentive-free, and there is almost no development of green energy there compared to other regions."

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