The area is also home to vast quantities of coal bed methane gas - natural gas contained in coal. In the coming weeks, USGS researchers will be meeting with officials from other government agencies and elected leaders to demonstrate this new study. Our goal is to make the best decisions, using the best science available, utilizing the best technologies.
Coal provides more than half the nation's electrical energy needs.
Although prices for oil and natural gas have climbed sharply over the past two years, coal prices have risen only slightly. Coal from the west is low in sulfur content making it relatively inexpensive to meet tougher new federal environmental standards when producing electricity. Almost 85 percent of the coal in the Colorado Plateau is used to generate electrical power. Formulation of an effective national energy policy and development of energy resources requires that we understand the geology, distribution, quality and size of the national energy endowment. The USGS assessment contains the latest information on coal resources, coal geology and coal quality, and discusses the environmental factors that eventually may control how and where coal is mined.