global energy resources

The fact that coal is becoming more prominent in the generation mix should, however, come as little surprise. The International Energy Agency has long projected a rise in coal usage based on energy security grounds. Indeed, there are 200 years worth of coal reserves in geographically dispersed areas, with deposits evenly distributed between the US (27%), Russia (17%), China (13%) and India (10%). Latest estimates suggest that coal will account for 27% of the global generation mix by 2030, up from the 24% that it holds today. Coal also accounts for 60% of global energy resources.

Given the abundance of resources and coal's geographical spread across politically accessible states, a number of countries are starting to see the fuel as the only viable option to alleviate energy security concerns. In effect, coal allows countries to place a reasonably stable and predictable egg into supply side baskets. Within the EU, Poland still relies on coal for around 90% of its generation mix, followed by the Czech Republic (65%), Greece (62%) and Germany, (around 50%). That said, like its liquid relation (in the form of oil), coal prices are beginning to increase. Coal has seen a threefold price increase over the past few years, driven by supply disruptions in producer states such as South Africa. However, rather than pushing investors away from carbon-based fuels and towards other forms of energy production such as renewables; as yet, the core result has been to bring previously uneconomic sites across Europe and the US back into consideration.