Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Stunning Fact: Coal Usage Has Grown More Than Gas Or Oil Over The Last 40 Years

Though US coal demand peaked in 2005 and has fallen about 22% since then, coal's troubles are recent.  Moreover, even with coal's recent decline, coal has done better than gas and oil over the last 40 years.

Since 1973, the demand for coal is up more than 30%, but natural gas rose just 14%.
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/mer.pdf.

As for oil, its consumption actually fell--down 1% since 1973.  See Table 1.3 in the link.

Though America consumes considerably more coal than it did in 1973, coal consumption has fallen sharply since 2005, when natural gas primarily started to displace coal for generating electricity. Given trends since 2005, coal usage could decline below 1973 levels in the next 10 years.

In fact, America may soon be using less coal and oil than it was 40 years ago. Remarkable!

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