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There are currenly 2,330 Coal power plants across the globe with a total capacity of 1,965,541 MW.
Coal is a readily combustible sedimentary deposit composed predominantly of carbon. It has a black or brown-black color andconsists of more than 50 percent by weight and more than 70 percent by volume of carbonaceous material. Coal is formed by plant remains that over a long period of time have been compacted, hardened, chemically altered, and metamorphosed by heat and pressure.
Coal is predominantly used as fuel to generate electric power in coal-fired power plants. Where bituminous coal, subbituminous coal, or lignite is burned to generate elecricity. In coal-fired power plants the heat produced by the combustion of coal is used to convert water into high-pressure steam, which drive turbines that produces electricity.
Coal is also used in the process of making steel, which requires quality coal that is high in carbon content and low in moisture. Anthracite is the most commonly used coal when making steel, a type of coal that is not used in the process of generating electricity.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States has the largest recoverable coal reserves in the world, with an estimated 252 billion short tons of coal remaining, as of January 2020.
Common coal used for electricity generation in power plants include Bituminous: a coal with high heating value (Btu), Subbituminous: a non-shiny coal with low-to-moderate heating values, and Lignite: a coal with high moisture content which results in a low heating value.
In 2021, coal-powered electricity generation grew to approximately 10,042 terawatt hours (TWh) worldwide.
database.earth build upon data from sources mentioned below. Relationships between countries and power plants has been added on top of other geolocating features for distance and direction calculation. Additions are made on a continual basis.
Source data made available by Global Energy Observatory/Google/KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm/Enipedia/World Resources Institute under CC BY 4.0.