Coal
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Before You Watch Our Lecture
Maximize your learning experience by reviewing these carefully curated videos and readings we assign to our students.
Our Lecture
Watch the Stanford course lecture.
Additional Resources
Find out where to explore beyond our site.
Fast Facts About
Coal
Principal Energy Uses: Electricity, Heat
Form of Energy: Chemical
Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and a huge contributor to climate change, air pollution, and land disruption. It is a chemically complex, rock-like hydrocarbon that contains heavy metals (e.g., mercury and lead), sulfur, and radioactive material. Coal is mined from the Earth and burned to convert chemical energy to heat.
Mining, producing, and combusting coal all have significant impacts to human health and the environment. Additionally, underground coal mining has higher risk for miners than surface mining. While more widespread use of surface mining and machinery for underground mining have improved worker safety, some countries continue to use underground mining and rely on human labor.
A widely-available but non-renewable resource, coal is still the second-largest source of energy in the world and the most-used fuel for electricity generation. Its usage has been on decline in the US since its peak in 2007, but global coal use has continued to increase, primarily due to high demand in China, India, and Southeast Asian countries.
Significance
Energy Mix
27% of world 🌎 (#2 resource)
10% of US 🇺🇸 (#3 resource)
Electricity Generation
35% of world 🌎 (#1 resource)
20% of US 🇺🇸 (#2 resource)
Global Coal Use
Electricity: 68%
Heat: 20%
Steel making: 13%
Change in Global Consumption
Increase:
⬆4%
(2017-2022)
43% of world 🌎
20% of US 🇺🇸
energy GHG emissions are from coal
(includes fugitive emissions)
Energy GHG emissions are ~75% of global GHG emissions.
Coal seams contain methane, which is released when the coal is mined. Coal Mine Methane (CMM) represented more than 10% of total methane emissions from human activity in 2022.
(Visit our Natural Gas page for more information on methane leakage.)
Coal Use is a Major Contributor to Outdoor Air Pollution
Coal combustion emits numerous hazardous air pollutants that impact human health and the environment.
Particulate matter contributes to human health impacts like asthma and respiratory illness. Particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) emissions pose the greatest risk. And PM2.5 from coal may be twice as deadly as PM2.5 from other sources, according to a recent study by Harvard’s School of Public Health and others.
Nitrous oxides (NOx) contribute to asthma, respiratory tract damage, and lung disease, and can lead to ozone which is harmful to human health.
Sulfur oxides (SOx) can harm the human respiratory system and can also cause acid rain.
Hydrochloric acid (HCl) can cause acid rain.
Heavy metal (e.g., mercury and lead) toxicity can cause birth defects and damage the functioning of the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, and blood composition. Simultaneous exposure to two or more heavy metals may have cumulative effects.
World
Largest Proved Reserves
US 22% 🇺🇸
Largest Producer
China 52% 🇨🇳
Largest Consumer
China 55% 🇨🇳
US
Largest Proved Reserves
Wyoming 35%
Largest Producer
Wyoming 41%
Largest Consumer
Texas 12%
Global Trade
Amount Traded
16%
of global consumption
Largest Exporters
Indonesia 34% 🇮🇩
Australia 25% 🇦🇺
Largest Importer
China 22% 🇨🇳
Change in Global Trade
Increase:
⬆6%
(2017-2022)
Drivers
- Abundant
- Relatively low private costs (but note that high social and environmental costs are not factored into the price)
- Easy to store
- Sunk cost of infrastructure
- Historical dependence of some communities on coal industry
- Domestic availability of coal
Barriers
- Many externalities: air pollution, methane leakage, CO2 emissions, heavy metals (e.g., mercury), coal dust, coal ash, water contamination, high water use, land subsidence
- Health and safety of mine workers; public health impacts on local communities
- Regulations are increasing
- New and existing coal plants are no longer cost competitive in many major markets
- Coal-fired power plants are inflexible, making it hard to integrate with increasing renewables
- Bankruptcy plaguing the US coal mining industry
- Legacy issues such as abandoned mines and leftover coal ash that require ongoing treatment and management
Climate Impact: High
- The most carbon-intensive energy source
- Escaping coal bed methane is also a potent greenhouse gas
Environmental Impact: High
- Combustion releases air pollutants (e.g., mercury, PM2.5, NOx, SO2)
- Extraction/mining and coal ash harm landscapes and water quality
- Surface mining and mountaintop removal are particularly damaging
Before You Watch Our Lecture on
Coal
We assign videos and readings to our Stanford students as pre-work for each lecture to help contextualize the lecture content. We strongly encourage you to review the Essential readings and videos before watching our lecture on Coal. Include selections from the Optional and Useful list based on your interests and available time.
Essential
- How Coal Made Us Rich — And Why It Needs to Go. DW Planet A. February 19, 2021. (8 min)
Coal’s history, it’s impact on the environment and society, and why it is hard to stop using it. - This Town Powered America for Decades. What Do We Owe Them? CNN Opinion. Ewen, McKenna. March 16, 2021. (9 minutes)
About Gillette, Wyoming – the main supplier of coal to the U.S. for decades – and the decline of the coal industry. - How Coal Mining is Displacing Millions. DW Planet A. April 3, 2021. (12 min)
Large-scale open pit mining impacts habitat and communities in India. - The Land of Mountaintop Removal. Smithsonian Channel. August 6, 2013. (3 min)
Visuals and statistics about the impact mountain top removal has had on the Appalachian Mountains and it’s communities. - How Huawei’s Use of 5G and AI Is Transforming China’s Coal Mining Industry. South China Morning Post. May 12, 2023. (4 min)
Showcases the advancements in mechanization and automation of coal mining. - The Danger of Coal Ash, the Toxic Dust the Fossil Fuel Leaves Behind. PBS NewsHour. August 14, 2019. (10 min)
Coal ash is a toxic waste that is left behind after burning coal and is a legacy environmental and health hazard. - Closing the Coal Ash Loophole. Grist. June 20, 2023. (8 pages)
Insight into recent coal ash regulations and how coal ash impacts the health of first responders and communities.
Optional and Useful
- Coal. NEED.org. 2021. (4 pages)
Great overview of coal. - How Steel Might Finally Kick Its Coal Habit. Wired. February 6, 2021. (4 pages)
An overview of different technologies to produce steel without coal. - Here's 3 Ways to Cut the Carbon Out of Cement Right Now. Forbes. February 7, 2023. (2 pages)
Outlines technologies that could help decarbonize the cement industry. - Could Coal Waste Be Used to Make Sustainable Batteries? The New Yorker. August 26, 2022. (5 pages)
Can we clean up acid mine drainage by extracting the metals we need for batteries? - This Kentucky Coal Mine Could Transform Into Pumped-Hydro Grid Storage. Canary Media. March 27, 2024. (2 pages)
Describes a proposed project to construct pumped-hydro storage on an old coal mining site. - Abandoned Coal Mines May Actually Hold the Secret to Storing Clean Energy — Here’s Why. Yahoo!tech. January 30, 2024. (1 page)
A new study outlines a method for storing excess clean energy in abandoned coal mines. - Climate Change Challenges: India's Need for Coal. BBC News. September 22, 2021. (3 min)
Spotlight on India’s challenges moving away from coal. - In Afghanistan, Coal Mining Relies on the Labor of Children. NPR. December 31, 2022. (5 min)
Spotlight on child labor for coal mining. - The Shocking Danger of Mountaintop Removal – And Why It Must End | Michael Hendryx. TED. June 1, 2018. (14 min)
More information about the impact of mountaintop removal for coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains. - Federal Court Reinstates Ban on New Coal Sales on Public Land. The Washington Post. August 12, 2022. (2 pages)
Short article on recent reinstatement of the moratorium to issue new coal leases on federal land. - North Dakota Officials Block Wind Power in Effort to Save Coal. NPR. February 25, 2021. (3 min)
Example of the tension between coal industry and renewables industry in local governments. - The Big One: Coal Dragline. Edmonton Journal. June 7, 2010. (3 min)
The equipment used in open pit coal mining is huge. - Poisonous Ponds: Tackling Toxic Coal Ash Great Lakes Now. September 6, 2022. (27 min)
Investigates the complicated policy and impacts of coal ash on Lake Michigan. - The TVA is Dumping a Mountain of Coal Ash in Black South Memphis. The Washington Post. August 19, 2022. (11 pages)
Spotlight on the racial inequities with plans to relocate coal ash. - Biden Administration Takes Action on Toxic Coal Ash Plaguing Kentucky and Indiana Courier Journal. January 17, 2022. (3 pages)
Describes how the Biden administration is taking action on some of the extension applications filed to comply with the 2015 regulations on coal ash rules. Shows the complexities in enacting regulation. - The Coal Plant Next Door. ProPublica. March 22, 2021. (2 pages)
An example of the contamination that can come from not properly disposing of coal ash.
Our Lecture on
Coal
This is our Stanford University Understand Energy course lecture on coal. We strongly encourage you to watch the full lecture to understand coal as an energy system and to be able to put this complex topic into context. For a complete learning experience, we also encourage you to watch / read the Essential videos and readings we assign to our students before watching the lecture.
Presented by: Diana Gragg, PhD; Core Lecturer, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Explore Energy Managing Director, Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University
Recorded on: October 10, 2023 Duration: 56 minutes
Table of Contents
(Clicking on a timestamp will take you to YouTube.)
00:00 Introduction
03:13 Significance of Coal
13:33 What is Coal
15:38 Upstream: Mining and Processing
26:34 Midstream: Transportation
30:54 Downstream: Electricity Generation
32:48 Environmental & Social Impacts
47:32 Economics and the Future of Coal
Lecture slides available upon request.
Additional Resources About
Coal
Government and International Organizations
- International Energy Agency (IEA) Coal
- US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Coal, Coal Explained
- US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Today in Energy Coal
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Coal Ash (Coal Combustion Residuals)
History
- Coal: A Human History - Barbara Freese (2003) find at a library near you
Fast Facts Sources
- Global Coal Demand: International Energy Agency (IEA). Global Coal Demand Set to Remain at Record Levels in 2023. July 27, 2023.
- Energy Mix (World 2022): Energy Institute. Statistical Review of World Energy. 2023.
- Energy Mix (US 2022): US Energy Information Agency (EIA). Total Energy: Energy Overview, Table 1.3. January 2024.
- Electricity Mix (World 2022): Energy Institute. Statistical Review of World Energy. 2023.
- Electricity Mix (US 2022): US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Electric Power Monthly. 2024.
- Global Coal Use (2022): International Energy Agency (IEA). Coal 2023: Analysis and Forecast to 2026, pp 7, 14, 16. 2023.
- Change in Global Consumption: Energy Institute. Statistical Review of World Energy. 2023.
- GHG Emissions from Energy (World 2021): International Energy Agency (IEA). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Data Explorer: Fugitive Emissions, Total GHG Emissions from Energy per Product. 2023. August 2, 2023.
- Coal Mine Methane Emissions (World 2022): International Energy Agency (IEA). Strategies to Reduce Emissions From Coal Supply: Understanding the Level and Nature of Coal Mine Methane Emissions. 2023.
- GHG Emissions from Energy (US 2022): International Energy Agency (IEA). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Data Explorer: Fugitive Emissions, Total GHG Emissions from Energy per Product. 2023. August 2, 2023.
- Air Pollution (US): National Institutes of Health (NIH). Deaths Associated With Pollution From Coal Power Plants. December 12, 2023. National Institutes of Health (NIH). National Library of Medicine: Toxic Mechanisms of Five Heavy Metals: Mercury, Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, and Arsenic. April 13, 2021.
- Largest Proved Reserves (World 2022): US Energy Information Agency (EIA). Coal and Coke, Coal Reserves. 2023.
- Largest Producer (World 2022): Energy Institute. Statistical Review of World Energy. 2023.
- Largest Consumer (World 2022): Energy Institute. Statistical Review of World Energy. 2023.
- Largest Proved Reserves (US 2022): US Energy Information Agency (EIA). Annual Coal Report 2022, Table 14. October 2023.
- Largest Producer (US 2022): US Energy Information Agency (EIA). Annual Coal Report 2022. October 2023.
- Largest Consumer (US 2022): US Energy Information Agency (EIA). Annual Coal Report 2022. October 2023.
- Amount Traded (World 2022): International Energy Agency (IEA). Coal 2023: Trade. 2023.
- Largest Exporters (World 2022): International Energy Agency (IEA). Coal 2023: Trade. 2023.
- Largest Importer (World 2022): International Energy Agency (IEA). Coal 2023, Table 7. 2023.
- Change in Global Trade (2017-2022): Energy Institute. Statistical Review of World Energy. 2023.
More details available on request.
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