Thanks to a jump in gas prices over the past year, coal is starting to gain back some of the ground it lost to natural gas in electricity generation. Back in April of 2012, the percentages of power generation from coal and natural gas in the U.S. were both standing very close to 32%. Those power generation figures stand at 40% from coal versus 25% from natural gas as of March 2013.
Despite the gains as of late, the long-term window for coal in the U.S. doesn't look as promising. Thanks to the large amount of coal facilities to be shut down in the next couple of years and more utility companies looking at other forms of generation, coal companies will need to look for a larger share of revenue coming from outside our borders. In this video, Fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe looks at some of the trends expected to come from utility companies over the next couple of years and what coal companies are doing to take advantage of the overseas markets.
