* 2017…

Phil Gonet, president of the Illinois Coal Association, said the state produced 62 million tons of coal in 1990 and employed about 10,000 people in the industry. By 2014, though, he said, coal employment plummeted to about 4,500 workers statewide, while overall production budged only slightly, to 58 million tons.

“We produced about the same amount of coal as we did in 1990, with about half the people,” he says.

And in 2015, Gonet said, more than 57 percent of Illinois’ coal production came from a handful of mines that use longwall mining, a highly mechanized technique that removes large sections of coal at a time.

The increasing use of mechanization means that even if the industry were to recover, there would be fewer jobs to be had.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, 3,219 people were employed in Illinois coal mines in 2016.

* From the US Department of Energy…

(N)et generation from coal sources declined by 53 percent between 2006 and September 2016, while electricity generation from natural gas increased by 33 percent and solar by over 5,000 percent —from 508,000 MWh to just over 28,000,000 MWh. The solar growth only includes utility-scale facilities. In fact, between September 2015 and September 2016 alone, distributed solar photovoltaic generation increased 35 percent nationwide, while estimated total solar —both utility-scale and distributed generation—increased by 52 percent across the country.

These shifts in electric generation source are mirrored in the sector’s changing employment profile, as the share of natural gas, solar, and wind workers increases, while coal m ining and other related employment is declining . It is important to note, however, that the majority of U.S. electrical generation continues to come from fossil fuels (coal and natural gas) and that, under latest EIA modeling in the Annual Energy Outlook 2016, will continue to provide 53% of total U.S. electricity in 2040.

* With that in mind…

Liberal Chicago Dems like @JBPritzker are advocating for the complete eradication of coal and the power and jobs that coal provides. These radical policies will cripple many of the towns and families across #IL, including ones that I represent. #StopTheWarOnCoal #twill https://t.co/YxcTR3ro8d

— Avery Bourne (@AveryBourne) August 6, 2018

…Adding… BND…

You’d be hard-pressed to find a town more closely identified with coal mining than Marissa, Illinois.

More than a dozen coal mines operated within a 3-mile radius of the village during its first 100 years. Its annual homecoming is known as the Marissa Coal Festival. A massive miners monument stands in the park, and a “Coal Country” exhibit greets visitors at the entrance of the history museum. […]

Enter Chad Easton, Marissa’s new 37-year-old mayor. He has found himself in the unlikely position of promoting solar energy as a way to help the former coal community cope with high power costs.

Plans call for construction of two solar farms, one 5 acres and one 11 acres, on village property on the west edge of town. Officials expect them to eventually provide all the electricity for the wastewater-treatment plant and most of it for other village buildings, saving thousands of dollars a year.

“That’s a big change,” said Easton, who got interested in solar while serving as a village trustee, before he was appointed to replace retiring mayor Jerry Cross last month.

The future is not coal.

*** UPDATE *** From the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition…

Republicans and Democrats who worked to pass the Future Energy Jobs Act recognize that the foundation of Illinois’ jobs economy lies in renewable energy. There is nothing “radical” about this rapidly growing industry, its job creation rate that outpaces Illinois’ overall jobs growth, billions of dollars in new private investment, workforce development training, and the cost savings it brings to consumers and communities throughout the state.