Los Angeles CA
8-22-2023 7:49pm

Coal Statistics: China, United States, and California

In 2021, the electric power sector accounted for about 92% of total U.S. coal consumption. China has more coal mines than any other nation and the most disasters.

China has more coal mines than any other nation and the most disasters. BUT 15% of the coal the United States exports is sent to China.  The coking coal China uses to make high quality steel is imported. China coal: why is it so important to the economy? | South China Morning Post 

  • China has 7.29 deaths per million tons of coal produced, compared to 0.04 deaths in the United States
  • China accounts for a third of the world’s coal production but forth-fifths of the world's coal mining deaths.
  • About 70 percent of the deaths occur in the small mines.
  • An average of 16 people/day die in mining accidents in China compared to 22 people/year in the U.S. There are human rights advocates who suggest the number of deaths in China are actually higher than reported. COAL MINE SAFETY, DEATHS AND INJURIES IN CHINA | Facts and Details

California and coal:

  • Coal fuels only a small amount of California's in-state net generation, all of it from one industrial cogeneration plant. 
  • A California law, enacted in 2006, limits new long-term financial investments in electricity generation based on greenhouse gas emissions. 
  • As a result, essentially all imports of coal-fired generation from other states are expected to end by 2026
  • California imports more electricity than any other state and typically receives between one-fifth and one-third of its electricity supply from outside of the state.
  • California does not have any coal reserves or production and has very little coal-fired electricity generation.
  • All the generation is from one industrial facility in Trona, California.
  • Almost all the coal consumed in California arrives by rail and truck from mines in Utah and Colorado
  • In 2021, some coal produced in other states was exported to other countries from California ports

The United States exports more coal to other countries than it imports from other countries.

Although the United States produces most of the coal that it consumes, it imports coal to meet some domestic demand. For example, coal-burning power plants along the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Ocean sometimes find it cheaper to import coal from other countries than to obtain coal from U.S. coal-producing regions.  Coal imports and exports - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

According to the US Dept of Energy:

The price of coal varies by coal rank and grade, mining method, and geographic region. 

Coal is classified into four main ranks—lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite—depending on the amounts and types of carbon it contains and the amount of heat energy it can produce. Prices are generally higher for coal with high heat content.

According to the 2021 the Department of Energy Annual Coal report (Short Tons 2,000 lbs): 

1949 1989 2021 Average annual sale prices of coal at mines in 2021
Bituminous Coal 437,868,000 659,771,000 259,900,584 $61.28
Subituminous Coal --- 231,171,000 268,055,363 $14.18
Lignite --- 86,439,000  47,364,090 $20.10
Anthracite 42,702,000 3,347,996  2,111,241 $107.00
Underground 358,854,000 393,835,000 220,597,113
Surface 121,716,000 586,893,000 356,834,165
E of Mississippi River 444,199,000 599,015,000 231,355,004
W of Mississippi River   36,371,000 381,714,000 346,076,274
  •  Lignite is crumbly and has high moisture content, it is derived from near the surface peat, and has the lowest energy content.
  • Subbituminous coal typically contains 35%–45% carbon, compared with 25%–35% for lignite
  • Bituminous coal contains 45%–86% carbon and has two to three times the heating value of lignite. Bituminous coal was formed under high heat and pressure. Bituminous is the most abundant rank of coal found in the United States.
  • Anthracite contains 86%–97% carbon and has a heating value that is slightly higher on average than bituminous coal. Anthracite is the least abundant rank of coal in the United States

In the Annual Energy Outlook 2022 Reference case, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that U.S. coal prices will generally increase each year through 2050, based largely on assumptions for the coal and electricity markets and industrial sector demand.

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