Coal's Cruel Fortune: Its Biggest Market Is Also the Windiest
- Wind farms are popping up in states from Texas to Illinois
- Wind combines with gas to temper coal demand in Great Plains
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Here’s how bad U.S. coal has it these days: The region that has for years burned the most coal also happens to be the windiest.
The Great Plains states that run south from Canada to Texas, tucked between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River, are increasingly turning to cheap wind power to generate electricity. It’s a shift that’s eating into coal’s dwindling share of America’s power plant pie.