Coal consumption for power in 2017 was 36% lower than in 2008: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=36812 https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.p

Coal consumption for power in 2017 was 36% lower than in 2008: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=36812 https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=36812 Coal consumption in 2018 is on track for a 4% decline below 2017: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/coal.php https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/coal.php That same short-term outlook predicts a further 5% drop in 2019 over 2018. It is at least physically possible that the US could consume more coal in 2019 than in 2018, though only a sucker would take that bet. But it's not even in the realm of possibility for the US to consume an all-time-high amount of coal in 2019, greater than 2008. Too many coal plants have already been shut down and scrapped since 2008. It takes years to build a new plant. There would be years of advance warning if the US were going to reach a new peak of coal consumption, because there would have to be a large wave of new coal plant construction first.