The U-S Energy Information Administration says coal-fired electric power plants are generating more energy this year than last , but Wyoming coal production numbers are still below last year’s.
Wyoming Mining Association President Marion Loomis says that while interest in coal is up right now, the outlook for 2013 is still not good for Wyoming’s coal industry.
“We’re certainly not back to what we’ve seen in prior years, and our production is still down. It’s looking like it will still be a tough year.”
Loomis says that the long winter across much of the Midwest and Eastern U-S, and higher prices for natural gas,
are part of the current rise in coal consumption.