Based on U.S. coal production in 2019, of about 0.706 billion short tons, the recoverable coal reserves would last about 357 years, and recoverable reserves at producing mines would last about 20 years.

The U.S. electric sector has been burning less coal every single year. This is a result of the declining economics of coal power plants due to low natural gas prices, increasing numbers of low-cost renewable plants, and more stringent environmental regulations.

1. Toxic water. Coal mining, washing and burning all release toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the environment, by the truckload. For every tonne of coal mined, between 1 and 2.5 cubic meters of groundwater is made unusable.

Coal is declining sharply, as financiers and insurance companies abandon the industry in the face of shrinking demand, pressure from climate campaigners, and competition from cleaner fuels. After years of its predicted demise, the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel may finally be on the way out.

Coal. We expect U.S. coal production to total 600 million short tons (MMst) in 2021, which is 61 MMst (11%) more than in 2020. The increase is driven primarily by rising electricity demand. In 2022, we expect coal production to grow by an additional 5 MMst (1%).

Coal consumption peaked between 2005 and 2008, when over one billion short tons were used every year….

Coal’s future (at least for power production) appears to be burning out. Absent significant improvements in carbon capture and sequestration technology, most developed markets, but not all, are likely to continue shuttering their coal fleets over the next couple of decades.

Coal is primarily used as fuel to generate electric power in the United States. In coal-fired power plants, bituminous coal, subbituminous coal, or lignite is burned. The heat produced by the combustion of the coal is used to convert water into high-pressure steam, which drives a turbine, which produces electricity.

Energy

Uses of coal

• Electricity Generation. Power generation is the primary use for coal worldwide.
• Metal Production. Metallurgical (coking) coal is a key ingredient in steelmaking.
• Cement Production. Coal is used as a key energy source in cement production.
• Gasification and Liquefaction.
• Chemical Production.
• Other Industries.

In 2019 there were 241 coal powered units across the United States. Coal plants have been closing at a fast rate since the 2010s due to cheaper and cleaner natural gas and renewables. Coal has been used to generate electricity in the United States since an Edison plant was built in New York City in 1882.

Wyoming

Top Coal Consuming States in 2016 4

• Texas (86.8 million short tons)
• Indiana (42.2 million short tons)
• Illinois (39.0 million short tons)
• Missouri (36.4 million short tons)
• Pennsylvania (33.4 million short tons)

COAL IS OUR MOST ABUNDANT FUEL In fact, one-fourth of all the known coal in the world is in the United States. The United States has more coal that can be mined than the rest of the world has oil that can be pumped from the ground. We have enough to last more than 250 years!

52 years

133 years

When oil drilling is taking place, animals get displaced and ecosystems can be disturbed or killed off. As if that weren’t enough, oil can also pollute our air. When oil is burned as part of the gasoline in cars, gases are released into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.

We will never run out of electricity but we may run out of the fossil fuels used to produce it for domestic and industrial applications. Wind, solar and other types of renewable electricity will have to be relied on more than at present. As for electricity itself, the universe is filled with it.

While fossil fuels were formed millions of years ago, we’ve only been using them for fuel for a fairly short period of time – just over 200 years. If we keep burning fossil fuels at our current rate, it is generally estimated that all our fossil fuels will be depleted by 2060. …

One of the Nikola Tesla’s attempt to provide everyone in the world with free energy was his World Power System, a method of broadcasting electrical energy without wires, through the ground that was never finished, but his dream of providing energy to all points on the globe is still alive today [1].

Electricity would become ubiquitous in the many parts of the world where that’s not yet the case. In other places, electric bills would disappear—but that would be the least of it. Manufacturing costs would plummet, as would transportation costs, as would, well, pretty much all costs.

Nikola Tesla