Why do they drill for gas instead, then? Because it’s more economical.
Nope, gas is much more expensive than coal.
There are numerous reasons that gas is drilled for. Why has industry chosen the more expensive fuel?
1. It is much cleaner to use natural gas, after you burn coal, you have a lot of dirty residue to deal with.
2. Gas does things than coal doesn’t such as running through an automatic valve to heat your water and burning in an open flame to cook your food without filling your house with carcinogens.
3. NG is much easier to get where you want, put in a pipe and you’re good. Coal is dirty and heavy, the only reasonable way to get it where you want it is to transport it by train, cheaper than NG but not convenient. And speaking of convenience, coal can’t be reasonably extracted in a populated area, you could have a gas well a quarter mile from your house and never know it. A strip mine makes quite the clatter.
Granted in our political environment, we won’t see coal gasification plants but NG has gotten expensive enough to warrent consideration. We should be investing billions in coal to liquid but that is another discussion.
Coal is the least desirable fuel for many reasons but has one advantage that can’t be denied, we’ve have lots of it. Finding more flexible ways to use it is a good thing.