American coal and renewable generation surged through the first three quarters of 2025, largely thanks to the rising cost of natural gas.
The chief culprit for the higher gas prices is a lack of pipeline capacity, limiting how much gas can be moved from productive regions like West Texas to a slew of new liquefied natural gas terminals along the Gulf Coast. That has pushed gas prices up from the rock-bottom levels they hit last year, tempering the use of natural gas for electricity production, analysts say.
“There is a disconnect between what is going on upstream and what is going on downstream,” said Ira Joseph, an analyst who tracks gas and power markets at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
While domestic gas production is keeping up with demand — hovering around record levels — pipelines are not. The result is a lifeline for coal, threatening to stall decreases in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.
