On January 11, the second-largest coal miner in the United States announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the parent company and subsidiaries. Arch Coal's bankruptcy is only the latest in a long series of losses for the American coal industry. Solar currently represents only around 1% of electricity generation, in both the U.S. and globally, and wind only around 4% in the United States. As such, renewable energy did not kill Arch Coal, or the U.S. coal market. GTM Research Director of Solar Research MJ Shiao notes that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on mercury and other toxins, as well as falling prices for natural gas driven by the fracking boom, are the largest factors in the ongoing fall of the nation's coal industry. However, there ...Den vollständigen Artikel lesen ...