US electricity industry's use of coal fell to historic low in 2015 as plants closed

The biggest source of climate pollution dropped to 34% of US electricity generation and co-author of a new report says: 'These are permanent changes'

America's use of coal for electricity dropped to its lowest point in the historical record in 2015, delivering a new blow to an industry already in painful decline.

The dirtiest of fossil fuels and America's biggest single source of climate pollution, coal accounted for just 34% of US electricity generation last year, according to the Sustainable Energy in America handbook on Thursday.