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SW: →Major coal mines: add Spending on coal imports section
==Major coal mines==
There are no coal mines in Connecticut.<ref>[http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/table9.html Major U.S. Coal Mines], Energy Information Administration, accessed June 2008.</ref>
==Spending on Coal Imports==
In May 2010, the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]] released a report titled ''Burning Coal, Burning Cash: Ranking the States that Import the Most Coal''.<ref name="deyfre">Jeff Deyette and Barbara Freese, [ "Burning coal, burning cash: Ranking the states that import the most coal",] Union of Concerned Scientists, May 18, 2010.</ref> The report found that Connecticut ranks ninth in a list state-by-state spending on international coal imports in 2008.<ref name="deyfre"/> According to the report, [[Indonesia and coal|Indonesia]] was the largest source of coal burned in the New England state, with $79 million worth of coal purchased from the country.<ref name="deyfre"/> [[West Virginia and coal|West Virginia]] was another major source of coal for Connecticut coal-fired plants; power companies there spent $51 million on West Virginia coal.<ref name="deyfre"/> Connecticut power plants spent a total of $130 million on coal in 2008; 60.8% was spent on internationally-sourced coal.<ref name="deyfre"/>
In 2008, sixteen U.S. states imported 25.4 million tons of coal from outside the country at the cost of $1.8 billion, an amount the equivalent of 1,700 barges over the course of a year, or over four per day.<ref name="deyfre"/> These imports amounted to three percent of the coal burned in the U.S. for electricity.<ref name="deyfre"/> The report noted that while coal imports into the U.S. have tripled over a ten year period ending in 2008, the country exports more coal than it imports.<ref name="deyfre"/>
[[Alabama and coal|Alabama]] (with $489 million) ranks number one for state-by-state spending on international coal imports, followed by [[Florida and coal|Florida]] (with $307 million).<ref name="deyfre"/> Another New England state, [[Massachusetts and coal|Massachusetts]], takes the number three position, having spent $206 million on Colombian coal.<ref name="deyfre"/> Connecticut was preceded by [[New Hampshire and coal|New Hampshire]], where power plants spent $79 million on coal imported from outside the U.S.<ref name="deyfre"/>
Coal is the source of 14.4 percent of the state's power.<ref name="deyfre"/> The majority of Connecticut's electricity comes from nuclear energy (50.8 percent) and natural gas (26.5 percent).<ref name="deyfre"/> The UCS report ranked states dependence on coal by six categories. Of the six categories, Connecticut was in the top ten for only this one category ('Spending on International Coal Imports').<ref name="deyfre"/> The state otherwise ranked as follows:
*'''Expenditures on Coal as Fuel for Power Plants (2008):''' CT ranks #31 with $130 million
*'''Amount of Coal Used to Fuel Power Plants, by Weight (2008):''' CT ranks #32 with 2,033,000 tons (total & net imports)
*'''Spending on Net Coal Imports per Capita (2008):''' CT ranks #30 with $37
*'''Spending on Net Coal Imports as a Share of Gross State Product (GSP) (2008):''' CT ranks #31 with 0.06%
*'''Net Coal Imports as a Share of Total State Electricity Use (2008):''' CT ranks #30 with 14% net imports/electricity use
==Citizen groups==
