Source: Benjamin J. Hulac, ROLL CALL, 10/26/21


The United States may be urgently transitioning from its long reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity, but West Virginia and its senior senator, Democrat Joe Manchin III, appear to be in no rush. The Mountain State trails the rest of the nation, including other coal producers, in decarbonizing its electricity supply. In 2000, 98.2 percent of its electricity generation came from coal, according to Energy Information Administration data. That figure dropped to 96.7 percent in 2010 and 88.48 percent today and remains the highest in the nation.

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