Members of the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee on July 24 hosted a hearing held in an underground coal mine on the economic benefits of coal.
“The Pennsylvania coal industry’s commitment to producing clean energy and protecting natural resources is commendable,” said Committee Chairman Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington). “The world is a better place with Pennsylvania energy, which is why we need a legislative and regulatory environment that advances the use of the Commonwealth’s natural resources.”
The hearing, entitled “Positive Impacts of Coal,” took place hundreds of feet underground in the Harvey mine, where bituminous coal mining has taken place for over 150 years, according to the committee.
Rachel Gleason, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance; Matt Mackowiak, manager of government affairs at CONSOL Energy; Jim Barker, president of the Rosebud Mining Company; and Tom Crooks, vice president at R.G. Johnson Inc., testified during the hearing.
Gleason testified that the coal industry employs thousands of people around the commonwealth and is a vital contributor to the nation’s infrastructure and national security. Coal’s role in providing power is “unmatched by any other fuel source in affordability, flexibility, reliability, resiliency, and security,” she said.
CONSOL, for instance, has mined 26 million tons of coal at its Pennsylvania mining complex, paid $20 million in taxes to the state, currently employs more than 2,000 people, and has paid them $105 million in salaries and benefits, according to Mackowiak.
“Meanwhile, Democrats’ commitment to transition away from fossil fuels, such as coal, is more detrimental to the environment than people realize, not to mention dismissive of Pennsylvania’s impressive industrial heritage and all the hard-working men and women in those industries,” added Kail.
Statewide, the coal mining industry sustains over 11,000 full-time jobs and produces nearly $4 billion in economic output, according to a report by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.
Mackowiak also said that the global demand for coal reached record highs last year and the demand is anticipated to rise.
At the same time, the increasing global demand for renewable energy sources unjustly sidelines coal as a critical energy source, and many people don’t realize that coal and other fossil fuels are needed to manufacture renewables or require less land use than renewable energy sources, like solar farms or wind turbines, said hearing participants.
“Pennsylvania coal is abundant and affordable, and the industry continuously goes to great lengths to minimize its impact on the environment,” said State Rep. Bud Cook (R-Greene/Washington), a member of the House Republican Caucus. “If we want reliable electricity, national security, family-sustaining jobs and vibrant communities, we must support — and protect — Pennsylvania’s coal mining industry.”