While the United States has seen an overall decline in the production and use of coal, there is a different story in Illinois.
During the first half of this year, Illinois coal production was 13% higher than the same period last year. That has been driven in significant part by power plants that have switched from Appalachia's higher-cost coal to Illinois' cheaper coal. Illinois coal has more sulfur, a pollutant, but at least 30 power plants in the region have added scrubbing equipment that allows them to burn Illinois coal.
