Coal plays a unique and vital role – Boyce

An energy plan that includes coal is vital to achieving a high-growth economic and industrial base in the US, according to Gregory Boyce, chairman and CEO of Peabody Energy. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs North American Energy Summit, Boyce argued that affordable energy from advanced coal technologies could help to reindustrialise North America’s economy as part of an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.

Coal in the US economy

"The US is the largest economy in the world. We should advance energy solutions that encourage robust economic growth. None of us should be satisfied with 2% – 3% annual GDP growth; let's put the policies in place to allow our economy to thrive."

Noting that, during the recent winter, coal fueled 90% of the increase in US energy needs, Boyce pointed out that coal also serves as a key buffer to higher natural gas price spikes, spikes in the cost of oil and the intermittency of renewables

"US energy policy should be guided by the very real crisis being felt today by more than one of every three households that qualify for energy assistance," he said.

Coal and the global picture

During this decade, nearly 335 GW of coal-fired electricity have been built in 29 nations on six continents. These plants have the potential to serve approximately 800 million people and use 1 billion tpa of coal. Coal is the world's fastest-growing major fuel and demand continues to rise, with coal set to surpass oil as the world's largest global energy source in coming years.

The world continues turning to coal to solve its largest energy and economic challenges. Globally one new 500 MW coal plant is being brought on line every three days, and the majority of this power is being developed as high-efficiency supercritical and ultra-supercritical generation that delivers low emissions.

This growth in coal-fired power should be supported: "Our actions should not be guided by a modeled crisis but by this very real human and environmental crisis," Boyce concluded.

Written by Jonathan Rowland

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/12062014/coal_plays_a_unique_and_vital_role%E2%80%93boyce_coal971/