Tiny 'monotowns' face existential threat as US abandons coal Report

Insight 25 March 2019

Get this report*

$1,100

You can pay by card or invoice

Share link

First name
Last name
Job Title
Company
Email
Telephone

Country

Message

Consent

Please keep me informed about Wood Mackenzie products, services and events.

Submit Category

For details on how your data is used and stored, see our Privacy Notice.

- FAQs about online orders
- Find out more about subscriptions

*Please note that this report only includes an Excel data file if this is indicated in "What's included" below

Report summary

Once considered immune to market shifts, many mine-mouth coal-fired power plants are at risk as the US continues to abandon coal. These often-remote complexes are singularly important to the employees and towns in which they operate. When these plants retire, the mines must be shuttered and the tiny towns in which many of them are located face an existential crisis. The lack of alternative employment alternatives forces employees to migrate. These socioeconomic stresses have encouraged politicians to propose laws and regulations that either discourage plant closure, encourage its life extension, or both. Power plant owners, often under pressure from environmental activists and seeking to lower costs, sometimes have different points of view. Examples of action taken in Wyoming, Montana and Arizona are examined.