By Erica Peterson/KPR
Murray, KY – The federal government predicts the country's appetite for coal will decrease further by the end of the year. The Energy Information Administration expects the amount of electricity generated from coal to decline up to 6 percent by the end 2012. This is mostly due to a small increase in natural gas-generated electricity and a large increase in hydroelectric power. Overall coal production has declined recently, mostly due a decline in Western mining. Appalachian coal is expected to see a slight boost in production. The bright spot for the industry in the report is that while coal production has fallen, coal exports rose during the first half of 2011.