Coal: bridge to the future. Report of the World Coal Study, WOCOL

Book · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:5253180

Wilson, C L

This report presents a plausible solution for the world's most acute energy need - increasing fuel supplies to support essential growth. It shows how coal can meet that need and be mined, moved and used in ways that meet stringent environmental standards. Coal already provides 25 percent of the world's energy. Reserves are abundant, technology for using it is well established, and it is relatively cheap and likely to remain so. This analysis of the world's energy and coal prospects to the year 2000 was prepared by the World Coal Study (WOCOL), an international project involving 80 people from 16 major coal-producing and -consuming countries in intensive work over 18 months. Some of its major conclusions are: (1) even under the moderate energy-growth assumptions of the study, world coal production will have to increase 2.5 to 3 times, and the world trade in steam coal will have to grow 10 to 15 times by the end of the century; (2) coal will have to supply between one-half and two-thirds of the additional energy needed by the world during this period; (3) coal is already economically competitive in many locations for the generation of electricity and in many industrial and other uses; and (4) the amount of capital required to expand the production, transport, and user facilities to triple the use of coal is within the capacity of domestic and international capital markets.

• DOE Contract Number: EX-76-A-01-2295
• OSTI ID: 5253180
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
012000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Mining
015000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294001 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Coal
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
COAL INDUSTRY
COAL MINING
COAL RESERVES
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC POWER
ENERGY SOURCES
EVALUATION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
INDUSTRY
MARKET
MINING
POWER
PRODUCTION
RESERVES
RESOURCES
TRANSPORT