Natural Gas Overtakes Coal in U.S. Electric Generation - by The Associated Press

Natural gas overtook coal as the top source of United States electric power generation for the first time ever this spring, a milestone that has been in the making for years as the price of gas slides and new regulations make coal riskier for power generators.  About 31 percent of electric power generation in April came from natural gas, and 30 percent from coal, according to a recently released report from the research company SNL Energy, which used data from the Energy Department.  Nuclear power came in third at 20 percent.  A drilling boom that started in 2008 has increased United States natural gas production by 30 percent and made the United States the world’s biggest combined producer of oil and natural gas.  Federal data shows that in April, the amount of electricity generated with natural gas climbed 21 percent compared with April 2014, and the amount generated with coal fell 19 percent.  In April 2010, 44 percent of electric power generation came from coal and 22 percent from gas, according to SNL Energy.

Read more at Coal’s Slow Demise As A Power Source Leads To Role Reversal With Natural Gas