Our Challenges

For decades, reliable low-cost energy from Utah coal plants has attracted business investment to Utah while also creating jobs and economic development for the rural Utah communities that have mined this important resource for generations.

But coal faces mounting challenges, both nationally and within the state of Utah. 

Already, the threat of a national carbon tax has caused most utilities--including Rocky Mountain Power in Utah--to abandon all plans to build new coal plants. 

Furthermore, the US Environmental Protection Agency is set to begin regulating carbon dioxide emissions and is considering a number of other regulations on pollution that could force expensive retrofits at existing coal plants.  In Utah, coal is becoming more difficult and expensive to mine, and coal reserves near operating Utah mines are dwindling--with some forecasts showing depletion in roughly a decade.

All these factors add up to increasing risks for Utah’s coal-dependent economy; our economic engine could literally run out of fuel as we head into the 21st century.