The U.S. is a net exporter of coal. U.S. coal exports, for which Europe is the largest customer, peaked in 2012. In 2015, the U.S. exported 7.0 percent of mined coal.

Coal mining in the United States is an industry in transition. Production in 2017 was down 33% from the peak production of 1,162.7 million tons (about 1054.8 million metric tonnes) in 2006. Employment of 50,000 coal miners is down from a peak of 883,000 in 1923. Generation of electricity is the largest user of coal, being used to produce 50% of electric power in 2005 and 27% in 2018. The U.S. is a net exporter of coal. U.S. coal exports, for which Europe is the largest customer, peaked in 2012. In 2015, the U.S. exported 7.0 percent of mined coal.

Coal remains an important factor in the 25 states in which it is mined. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2015 Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, and Pennsylvania produced about 639 millions of short tons (MST) representing 71% of total U.S. coal production in the United States.

A few key countries dominate this picture. The world’s top 10 nations for coal capacity, shown in the table below, account for 86% of the total operating today and 82% of plants in the pipeline. In 2018, coal mining decreased to 755 million short tons, and American coal consumption reached its lowest point in nearly 40 years.In 2017, U.S. coal mining had increased to 775 million short tons.In 2016, US coal mining declined to 728.2 million short tons, down 37 percent from the peak production of 1,172 million tons in 2008. In 2015, 896.9 million short tons of coal were mined in the United States,with an average price of $31.83 per short ton, worth $28.6 billion.

 

Country Operating (MW) Share Country Pipeline (MW) Share
China 972,514 48% China 198,600 35%
United States 261,037 13% India 93,958 16%
India 220,670 11% Vietnam 42,215 7%
Russia 48,463 2% Turkey 37,466 7%
Germany 48,275 2% Indonesia 24,691 4%
Japan 45,568 2% Bangladesh 21,364 4%
South Africa 42,281 2% Japan 15,308 3%
South Korea 37,064 2% South Africa 14,192 2%
Poland 29,625 1% Egypt 13,240 2%
Indonesia 29,307 1% Philippines 12,618 2%

 

Coal in the US (Million Short Tons)
Production Net Exports Net Available
2000 1,074 46 1,008
2001 1,128 29 1,099
2002 1,094 23 1,071
2003 1,072 18 1,054
2004 1,112 21 1,091
2005 1,131 19 1,112
2006 1,163 13 1,150
2007 1,147 23 1,124
2008 1,172 47 1,125
2009 1,075 36 1,039
2010 1,084 62 1,022
2011 1,096 94 1,002
2012 1,016 117 899
2013 985 109 876
2014 1,000 86 914
2015 896 63 833
2016 739 501 688
2017 775 97 678
2018 755 116 678

Coal Production

Coal use may be on the decline, but China still produces a whopping 45% of the world’s coal.

Low–sulfur coal generally contains 1 percent or less sulfur by weight. For air quality standards, “low sulfur coal” contains 0.6 pounds or less sulfur per million Btu, which is equivalent to 1.2 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million Btu.

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