7 ms·

As we approach the third decade of the 21st Century, how is most electricity on the planet generated? Coal.

jsight 9y ago
As far as I know, that isn't really true. Isn't coal well under 50% now? I suspect that it would be below 40% by this point and dropping. It isn't really reasonable to expect it to disappear too quickly, though.
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago
  > Isn't coal well under 50% now? I suspect that it would be below 40% by this point and dropping Coal has remained around 29% of global primary energy consumption since 2005 [1]. I don't believe it's dropping. [1] https://www.worldenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/World-Energy-Resources-Full-report-2016.10.03.pdf https://www.worldenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/World... Figure 1, page 4
  - melling 9y ago
    You are saying something completely different. The discussion is not about all energy use but about the generation of electricity.
- jackmott 9y ago
  Pounds of CO2 emitted per million British thermal units (Btu) of energy for various fuels: Coal (anthracite) 228.6 Coal (bituminous) 205.7 Coal (lignite) 215.4 Coal (subbituminous) 214.3 Diesel fuel and heating oil 161.3 Gasoline (without ethanol) 157.2 Propane 139.0 Natural gas 117.0 natural gas is a win over coal, but not a big one.
- sologoub 9y ago
  There still appears to be net growth in Asia Pacific region: https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/coal/coal-consumption.html https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/stat... and the interactive chart: http://tools.bp.com/energy-charting-tool#/st/coal/dt/consumption/unit/MTOE/region/NOA/SCA/EU/MIE/AFR/AP/view/area/ http://tools.bp.com/energy-charting-tool#/st/coal/dt/consump... That region is consuming more than 7x North American consumption and accounts for 73% of overall consumption. Unfortunately, it’s also the area seeing the least drop as a percentage. In other words, the rest of the world can completely get rid of coal and the total global coal emissions will still be higher than they were before 2003.
mabbo 9y ago
The nice thing is that coal is starting to be less economical than other options. Solar and Wind are getting so cheap, and batteries are making their output variance less of an issue. Nuclear is still, I feel, the best option for the base load the world needs but it seems that option has lost favor politically.
tankenmate 9y ago
According to "The Shift project Data Portal"[0] coal accounts for 39% in 2014 (which is no doubt lower now considering the rise of solar and wind in the last 3 years). Carbon based fuel types are at 66% according to the same source, however take note that coal produces almost two times the carbon emissions of natural gas, and diesel almost 50% more than natural gas. [1] Also you need to consider that in G-7 nations mains electricity use is actually declining. And in G-20 it has only gone up by 0.1% in the last year. [2] And lastly consider than non obvious sources of global warming sources are things like cattle which globally account for nearly 18% (2006 UN Food and Ag Report) which is more than global transportation. [3] So singling out coal is nowhere near a big win as your comment implies. [0] http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-Electricity-Generation-by-Energy-Source http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-Electricity-Gene... [1] https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=73&t=11 https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=73&t=11 [2] https://www.enerdata.net/publications/reports-presentations/global-energy-trends-2017.html https://www.enerdata.net/publications/reports-presentations/... [3] https://gizmodo.com/do-cow-farts-actually-contribute-to-global-warming-1562144730 https://gizmodo.com/do-cow-farts-actually-contribute-to-glob...
- hinkley 9y ago
  Found the coal shill. Look. We have a carbon budget problem. When you have a budget problem, you need to make a budget. Nobody with real problems ever solved them by looking at all of your outlays, trimming the biggest one and claiming victory. You have to trim every single one that doesn’t represent a reasonable fraction of the whole. The opposite of “Singling coal out” is not “give it a free pass”. It needs to be cut. Along with everything else. It is indefensible that it is 40% of the energy mix but 60% of the carbon footprint. Full stop.
  - sctb 9y ago
    > Don't accuse others of astroturfing or shillage. Email us and we'll look into it. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - tankenmate 9y ago

As far as I know, that isn't really true. Isn't coal well under 50% now? I suspect that it would be below 40% by this point and dropping. It isn't really reasonable to expect it to disappear too quickly, though.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> Isn't coal well under 50% now? I suspect that it would be below 40% by this point and dropping Coal has remained around 29% of global primary energy consumption since 2005 [1]. I don't believe it's dropping. [1] https://www.worldenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/World-Energy-Resources-Full-report-2016.10.03.pdf https://www.worldenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/World... Figure 1, page 4
- melling 9y ago
  You are saying something completely different. The discussion is not about all energy use but about the generation of electricity.
jackmott 9y ago
Pounds of CO2 emitted per million British thermal units (Btu) of energy for various fuels: Coal (anthracite) 228.6 Coal (bituminous) 205.7 Coal (lignite) 215.4 Coal (subbituminous) 214.3 Diesel fuel and heating oil 161.3 Gasoline (without ethanol) 157.2 Propane 139.0 Natural gas 117.0 natural gas is a win over coal, but not a big one.
sologoub 9y ago
There still appears to be net growth in Asia Pacific region: https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/coal/coal-consumption.html https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/stat... and the interactive chart: http://tools.bp.com/energy-charting-tool#/st/coal/dt/consumption/unit/MTOE/region/NOA/SCA/EU/MIE/AFR/AP/view/area/ http://tools.bp.com/energy-charting-tool#/st/coal/dt/consump... That region is consuming more than 7x North American consumption and accounts for 73% of overall consumption. Unfortunately, it’s also the area seeing the least drop as a percentage. In other words, the rest of the world can completely get rid of coal and the total global coal emissions will still be higher than they were before 2003.

mabbo 9y ago

The nice thing is that coal is starting to be less economical than other options. Solar and Wind are getting so cheap, and batteries are making their output variance less of an issue. Nuclear is still, I feel, the best option for the base load the world needs but it seems that option has lost favor politically.

tankenmate 9y ago

According to "The Shift project Data Portal"[0] coal accounts for 39% in 2014 (which is no doubt lower now considering the rise of solar and wind in the last 3 years). Carbon based fuel types are at 66% according to the same source, however take note that coal produces almost two times the carbon emissions of natural gas, and diesel almost 50% more than natural gas. [1] Also you need to consider that in G-7 nations mains electricity use is actually declining. And in G-20 it has only gone up by 0.1% in the last year. [2] And lastly consider than non obvious sources of global warming sources are things like cattle which globally account for nearly 18% (2006 UN Food and Ag Report) which is more than global transportation. [3] So singling out coal is nowhere near a big win as your comment implies. [0] http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-Electricity-Generation-by-Energy-Source http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-Electricity-Gene... [1] https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=73&t=11 https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=73&t=11 [2] https://www.enerdata.net/publications/reports-presentations/global-energy-trends-2017.html https://www.enerdata.net/publications/reports-presentations/... [3] https://gizmodo.com/do-cow-farts-actually-contribute-to-global-warming-1562144730 https://gizmodo.com/do-cow-farts-actually-contribute-to-glob...

hinkley 9y ago
Found the coal shill. Look. We have a carbon budget problem. When you have a budget problem, you need to make a budget. Nobody with real problems ever solved them by looking at all of your outlays, trimming the biggest one and claiming victory. You have to trim every single one that doesn’t represent a reasonable fraction of the whole. The opposite of “Singling coal out” is not “give it a free pass”. It needs to be cut. Along with everything else. It is indefensible that it is 40% of the energy mix but 60% of the carbon footprint. Full stop.
- sctb 9y ago
  > Don't accuse others of astroturfing or shillage. Email us and we'll look into it. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- tankenmate 9y ago