US stockpiles of coal at power plants reach post-2020 high
Published by Will Owen,
Editor
World Coal,
According to the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), coal stockpiles at US electric power plants totalled 138 million short t at the end of May, the most since 1H20 when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced electricity demand and coal consumption.
In the US, coal is typically consumed by power plants following the seasonal pattern of electricity generation; most coal consumption occurs during the summer and winter. Because power plants consume more coal during the warm summer months, power plants typically begin increasing their coal stocks in the spring as plant operators prepare.
US coal power plants generally stockpile much more coal than they consume in a month, with more than 90% of coal-fired power plants currently having enough coal on hand to generate electricity for 60 days or more. The EIA estimates days of burn as the number of days a sample of coal plants can generate electricity using their current stockpiles. Coal plant operators keep extra coal on hand because physical delivery constraints in the supply chain limit how quickly coal plants can increase their stockpiles.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/06082024/us-stockpiles-of-coal-at-power-plants-reach-post-2020-high/
You might also like
FutureCoal welcomes global shift toward technology-neutral, energy-secure pathways at COP30 and G20
FutureCoal has welcomed the outcomes of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg and the COP30 climate negotiations in Belém, noting that both major global forums reinforced the needs of many emerging economies requiring balanced, methodical, technology-neutral energy pathways.