“Coal is in Terminal Decline,” Endures its Largest Consumption Drop Ever

I recall about a decade ago, ‘clean coal’ was all the rage, as men with the black lung shoveled their way onto the CNBC to dicuss their revolutionary “green” coal that was going to change the world. Now we can see, all of that shit was a lie.

Global use of the most polluting fuel fell 2.3 percent to 4.6 percent in the first nine months of 2015 from the same period last year, according to a report released Monday by the environmental group Greenpeace. That’s a decline of as much as 180 million tons of standard coal, 40 million tons more than Japan used in the same period.

“These trends show that the so-called global coal boom in the first decade of the 21st century was a mirage,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, Greenpeace’s coal and energy campaigner.

China Declining

In China, responsible for about half of global coal demand, use in the power sector fell more than 4 percent in the first three quarters and imports declined 31 percent, according to the report. Since the end of 2013, the country’s electricity consumption growth has largely been covered by new renewable energy plants.

“The coal industry likes to point to China adding a new coal-fired power plant every week as evidence that coal demand will pick up in the future, but the reality on the ground is rather different,” according to the report. “Capacity utilization of the plants has been plummeting. China is now adding one idle coal-fired power plant per week.”

U.S. Electricity

The share of coal used to generate electricity in the U.S. will fall to 36 percent this year from 50 percent a decade ago. More than 200 coal-fired power plants, with total capacity of 83 gigawatts, have been scheduled for retirement, including 13 gigawatts expected to retire this year.

Coal consumption in the 28-nation European Union was flat in the first nine months, after declining a record 6.5 percent in 2014, according to Greenpeace.

In India, domestic coal production has been on the rise, with sales by Coal India increasing 7 percent in the first nine months, and consumption increasing about 5 percent. India’s efforts to promote renewable energy is also eating into demand for coal, and stockpiles in the country have increased sharply.

“Coal is in terminal decline, and those countries investing in coal for export markets are making reckless decisions,” Myllyvirta said.

With ACI on the verge of bankruptcy and BTU highly distressed, I say “good riddance” to this arcane industry, one that selfishly enslaves the morons from W. Virginia and stymies human innovation. These coal men, these relics from antiquity, should all perish under the fires of their own making.

The last thing that I care about is saving the world from global warming. Fuck the planet and everyone on it. However, I am sick and tired of seeing coal mines and people go into them. On the teevee, we get to see Iron Man and his kickass energy sources, revolutionary stuff that powers robots to destroy villains. Once I turn off the teevee, I see my fucking utility bill that derives from the usage of Victorian era technology.

What’s up with that?

Pray pardon as I get my calash and horses ready to deliver bankruptcy notices to all of the luddite coal men in the Appalachia.