Coal Remains The World’s Main Energy Source For Power Generation

    As the primary energy source in many regions, coal's market share may be declining, but it will remain the main global power generation energy for decades to come.

    Power coal is a commodity with declining consumption. In the United States, current coal demand is about half of what it was a decade ago. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, coal demand has been growing and has only recently "stabilized." As time passes, coal consumption will decrease year by year, and coal consumption in the United States may significantly decline in the next 10 years.

    Despite this, international market coal prices remain strong. The coal market is not dead; based on price and availability, global coal demand will shift from the Western world to the Eastern world.

    Coal will continue to exist for many years to come.

    From 2021 to 2024, India's coal-fired power generation will increase by 11%, Southeast Asia's coal-fired power generation will increase by 12%, and China's coal-fired power generation will increase by 4.1%. However, at the same time, the coal-fired power generation in the United States may decrease by 21%, and in the European Union, it may decrease by 30%.

    Given the natural gas supply shortage and rising prices that have exacerbated the European energy crisis, considering limited supply and high demand, an increase in coal prices is inevitable.

    However, the price of coal with the same calorific value is still much lower than that of spot natural gas and oil, so coal-fired power generation remains profitable. Before 2050, coal will remain the largest energy source for electricity generation globally.

     Coal can only be truly eliminated when large quantities of practical batteries can store as much electricity as the output of small power plants, when there are sufficient raw materials to manufacture them, and when the cost is affordable for most countries.