Tagged: Energy Information Administration

New state-level data from the Energy Information Administration shows that carbon dioxide emissions fell in most states in the last decade. But Kentucky saw a slight increase in emissions.

Thirteen years ago, Kentucky was emitting 144.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, generated during electricity generation. Ten years later, that number was up to about 150 million metric tons. That’s more than a four percent increase.

For the first time since the federal government has begun collecting data, natural gas and coal produce virtually the same amount of the country’s electricity.

The Energy Information Administration just crunched its numbers for this past April, and preliminary data shows that both coal and natural gas make up about 32 percent of the country’s total electricity generation.

A common misconception about coal in America is that it accounts for most of the nation’s electricity generation.

Coal’s importance to the nation’s energy mix is indisputable. But that influence is on the decline, and is dropping fast. Even so, the new data has yet to be embraced by politicians intent on reinforcing Kentucky’s coal industry.

Here’s Western Kentucky state Representative Brent Yonts at a recent public hearing in Frankfort.