World Coal Outlook
Over 41% of global electricity generation is from coal. The generation technologies are well established, fuel is abundant, and technical capacity and human expertise is widespread. The World Coal Outlook report analyzes production and consumption data, coal trade, the geographical distribution of coal production, emergence of a single coal market, shipping and freight rates of coal, and coal extraction technologies in the global coal market.
Total U.S. production of coal was 1.17 billion tons in 2008, more than a 95 percent increase since 1973. The leading coal producing states are Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Montana. These five states produce 73 percent of the coal in the U.S.
Not only does coal provide electricity, it is also an essential fuel for steel and cement production, and other industrial activities. Coal is a combustible, sedimentary, organic rock, which is composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It is formed from vegetation, which has been consolidated between other rock strata and altered by the combined effects of pressure and heat over millions of years to form coal seams. Coal is a fossil fuel and is far more plentiful than oil or gas, with around 119 years of coal remaining worldwide.
In 2008, foreign countries bought almost seven percent of all the coal produced in the U.S. The biggest foreign markets for U.S. coal are Canada, Brazil, and some European countries. Major coal producing countries such as China, India, USA, Australia, South Africa, Russia, and Poland are analyzed in this report. Regulatory framework governing the global coal industry, is also discussed. According to the World Coal Institute, coal has played a vital role in China providing access to electricity to over 003450 million people in just 15 years.
The People's Republic of China is the largest consumer of coal in the world and is about to become the largest user of coal‐derived electricity, generating 1.95 trillion kilowatt‐hours per year. Coal production rose 8.1% in 2006 over 2007, reaching 2.38 billion tons, and the nation's largest coal enterprises saw their profits exceed 67 billion yuan, or $8.75 billion. China has enough coal to sustain its economic growth for a century or more even though demand is currently outpacing production.
Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
646.402.5076
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