Coal

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Coal is a combustible rock composed of decayed plant matter. It is found mainly in underground deposits, though coal deposits can also be found directly beneath the Earth's surface. Coal is a fossil fuel (an energy source formed over millions of years by decayed animal and plant matter buried under rock layers) that is used primarily to generate heat or electricity in homes, businesses, factories, and more. In 2015, U.S. coal production totaled 896.9 million short tons. That year, coal accounted for around 16 percent of total U.S. energy consumption—91 percent of which was used to generate electricity.^[1]

This article outlines background information on coal and its uses, data on U.S. production and consumption, and the policy debate over coal production and use from the perspective of proponents and opponents of coal.

Background[edit]

Coal

Coal is formed from accumulated layers of decayed plant materials over millions of years. As layers over the plant matter applied heat and pressure to the lower layers, physical and chemical changes to the plants in lower layers eliminated oxygen and left behind deposits of carbon. Over time, these carbon deposits became coal. After it is mined, coal is readily combustible and can be used as an energy source without refining. Types of coal include anthracite, lignite, bituminous, and subbituminous; the amount of carbon in the coal determines the classification.^[2][3]

• Anthracite coal is 86 percent to 97 percent carbon. This type of coal accounted for less than 1 percent of the coal mined in the United States in 2015.^[3]
• Bituminous coal is 45 percent to 86 percent carbon. It accounted for around 50 percent of domestic production in 2015. Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia accounted for 73 percent of domestic bituminous coal production in 2015. Bituminous coal is used primarily as a raw material in the iron and steel industries.^[3]
• Lignite coal contains 25 percent to 35 percent carbon and has the lowest energy content. Lignite coal is newer relative to the other types of coal and was not formed by strong heat or pressure. It accounted for 8 percent of total U.S. coal production in 2015. Around 90 percent of U.S. lignite coal production in 2015 occurred in Texas and North Dakota; these states used lignite coal primarily to generate electricity.^[3]
• Subbituminous coal contains 35 percent to 45 percent carbon. This type of coal accounted for 47 percent of domestic production in 2015. Around 90 percent of subbituminous coal was produced in Wyoming in 2015.^[3]

Mining[edit]

Surface coal mining

If coal is found near the Earth's surface, miners use surface mining to remove the top layers to access coal. For coal found in layers below the Earth's crust, underground mining is used. Coal mining operators create vertical or slanted shafts in the mining area to produce ventilation for miners and routes of transportation for workers, mining equipment and coal. Miners load the coal onto small cars or conveyor belts that carry coal outside the mine. The coal is then loaded onto trucks for delivery to facilities where the coal is crushed for easier shipping and burning. Crushed coal is delivered by truck, railroad, boat, or barge. Some forms of coal that are mixed with water or oil can be delivered through pipelines. ^[4]

Uses of coal[edit]

Coal is used primarily to generate heat or electricity in homes, businesses, factories, and more. In 2015, coal accounted for around 16 percent of total U.S. energy consumption—91 percent of which was used to generate electricity. Electric power plants burn to coal to produce steam that powers turbines to generate electricity. Industries like the concrete and paper industries use coal to produce heat. Bituminous coal is used indirectly to produce steel. Steel operators bake coal in furnaces to make what is known as coal coke, which is used to smelt iron ore into iron to produce steel.^[1]

Production[edit]

In 2015, U.S. coal production totaled 896.9 million short tons. The chart below shows total U.S. coal production from 2001 to 2015.^[5][6]

Total U.S. coal production from 2001 to 2015

The map below shows total coal mine production in 2015 in each state. An interactive version of the map below can be accessed here.

Map legend

Transportation[edit]

Coal can be transported by rail, barge, truck, or a conveyer belt to power plants. The chart below shows the type of transportation used for coal shipments from 2008 to 2015. Rail was the most common mode of transportation in 2015. Barges, trucks, and conveyor belts accounted for around 30 percent of the remaining coal shipment methods used.^[7][8][9]

Coal shipments by transit mode, 2008-2013 (click to enlarge)

Policy debate[edit]

The sections below discuss support and opposition to coal production and use.

Support[edit]

Proponents of coal production argue that the industry produces economic benefits in the form of employment, labor income, contributions to gross domestic product (GDP), tax revenue, and indirect employment. According to the National Mining Association (NMA), a national trade organization that represents the coal mining industry, the coal industry directly supported 634,600 jobs in 2015 and produced approximately $46.2 billion in labor income in 2015. The table below shows the conclusions of the NMA's 2015 study on the economic impact of coal mining.^[10]

Proponents of coal use argue that the relative abundance of coal compared to natural gas or oil produces more affordable electricity for consumers given high supply. These proponents cite the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which concluded in 2016 that the United States has the largest recoverable coal reserves worldwide.^[11]

Other proponents argue that states with higher coal-generated electricity have lower electricity prices. According to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a nonprofit organization that represents coal producers and utility companies, the 13 states that generated on average around 70 percent of their electricity from coal paid an average of 9.18 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) as of February 2017, which was 11 percent less than the national average of 10.28 cents per kWh in 2016. Further, the 25 states that generated around 8 percent on average of their electricity from coal paid an average of 12.29 cents per kWh for electricity as of February 2017, which was 20 percent more than the national average in 2016.^[12]

Other proponents of coal use argue that coal, which produces more air pollutants when it is burned than natural gas, has become less of a pollution source given technological advances at coal plants. According to the Institute for Energy Research in 2013, a nonprofit organization that analyzes "the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets," technologies adopted by coal operators have reduced air pollution from burning coal. These technologies include the following:^[13]

• Flue gas desulfurization, which removes sulfur dioxide from exhaust gases at coal-fired plants
• Selective catalytic reducers, which use a catalyst to convert nitrogen oxide (a pollutant) into nitrogen, water, and limited amounts of carbon dioxide
• Fabric filters, which remove particulate matter (a pollutant) using a layer of cloth
• Dry sorbent injection systems, which inject sorbents (fine-grain materials) into a gas stream to absorb mercury and other toxic pollutants

In addition, proponents of coal like the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity cite the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which estimated in February 2017 that emissions per kilowatt hour of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter from coal plants decreased by approximately 92 percent from 1970 to 2016.^[14]

Opposition[edit]

Opponents of coal production and use argue that coal produces negative environmental effects such as air and water pollution. Some opponents of coal like the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group, support ending coal mining and coal-powered electricity generation in favor of wind and solar-powered electricity. According to the group's website, "The Beyond Coal campaign’s main objective is to replace dirty coal with clean energy" and "to advocate for the retirement of old and outdated coal plants and to prevent new coal plants from being built." The Sierra Club argues that continuing coal use will produce further pollution that could result in more than $100 billion in annual health costs, particularly in the form of asthma attacks, premature deaths, emergency room visits, and missed days of school and work.^[15][16]

Other opponents of coal production and use argue for additional federal environmental regulation of coal plants. The Environmental Defense Fund, whose stated mission is to "find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems," supports the 2011 federal rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency to require national mercury and air toxics standards for coal-fueled power plants, arguing that the standards would produce health benefits in the form of fewer asthma attacks, fewer missed work and school days, and fewer premature deaths.^[17][18]

According to Jim Krane, an energy policy analyst at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, the replacement of coal by natural gas, wind, and solar energy in electricity generation produces benefits in the form of fewer air pollutants, less disruption to land needed to construct coal plants, and fewer carbon dioxide emissions linked to potentially human-caused climate change. In addition, Krane argued in March 2017 that the move from coal to natural gas has resulted in lower electricity prices, less sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter emissions, less coal ash (a byproduct of coal use), and less open-pit and mountaintop mining, which requires removing land surfaces to access coal resources.^[19]

Other critics of coal production argue that coal mining has more dangerous occupational hazards for workers than other types of energy extraction, such as oil and natural gas drilling. These risks include injury from falling equipment and objects as well as roof collapse, potential respiratory damage caused by dust and other materials in underground coal mines, and hearing damage caused by loud equipment.^[20]

See also[edit]

• 

  Energy policy in the United States

• 

  Fracking in the United States

• 

  Glossary of energy terms

Footnotes[edit]

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