I used to work for a drywall manufacturer who still owned their own mines despite efforts to divest from them by some. They always viewed it as a structural advantage to still own them and not be wholly dependent on the coal plants (which effectively have conveyor belts going from the coal plants to the wallboard plants). I imagine as time goes on it'll become even more of an advantage for them to still own those mines as their competitors are forced to buy at highly inflated prices (or even from them) as coal shuts down.

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trollbridge 8 hours ago | parent [-]

Or AI’s thirst for power will bring coal back.

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willis936 8 hours ago | parent [-]

Why would heightened electricity demand increase the use of the most expensive energy source?

	▲	nradov 7 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Potentially due to a shortage of electricity from cheaper searches. There is also political pressure to keep certain coal fired power plants open. https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-valley-authority-coal-p...
	▲	idiotsecant 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Coal is expensive, but it's still cheaper than nuke and peaker thermal. If you want power fast and your state and federal government aren't worried about a few pesky environmental regulations you might see coal come back. Part of coals attraction is that it takes a lot of people to run a coal plant, and people need jobs. Those people vote and politicians like votes.