4 ms·

I interpret "marketable product" to mean gas at the wellhead, coal at the mine terminal.

• criddell 6mo ago
  I didn't interpret it that way because of this line from that page: > [Total Final Consumption] shows the energy that is actually used by final consumers – the energy used in homes, transportation and businesses. I'm not buying coal at the terminal to power my television.
  • jeffbee 6mo ago
    Indeed, but were we not looking at TPES before?
    • criddell 6mo ago
      Yes we were. Looking at the chart for TFC, the wind and solar case looks even worse. Wind and solar supplies 2 million TJ compared to 36 million for coal. All I was really trying to say from the outset is that I'm surprised at how important coal still is and how little we use renewables. I see articles here all the time about the massive advancements in solar (and wind to a lesser degree) and I had it in my head that renewables were a much larger part of the energy mix than they are.
      • pfdietz 6mo ago
        There is lag created by sunk capital costs. Coal is still producing considerable electric power in the US, but the last time a new coal-fired power plant came online was more than a decade ago, and there are none under construction (although Trump was trying to get one built, to considerable skepticism and inertia). The average age of a coal-fired power plant in the US is 40+ years.