Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/330408
June 2014 | Construction Equipment Distribution | ZZZFHGPDJFRP| 41 Sector Check National Coal Council, Inc., which advises the Secretary of Energy on policy related to coal. "We seem to have a fuel du jour approach with our energy policy," said Gelllici. "Various fuel sources have their day in the sun. Today there is a focus on renewable energy – there is a lot of support and production tax credits for solar and wind." However, she says there is an increased focus on the reliability of the power supply in Washington, as pending nuclear retirements necessitate additional baseload generation before 2020. She believes a diversity of supply is needed as a hedge against significant price hikes and that coal should remain part of the solution. In the Annual Energy Outlook 2014, produced by EIA, natural gas generation is projected to surpass coal generation by 2035. Coal and natural gas each represent 34 percent of total generation in 2035, but by 2040 the coal share drops to 32 percent, and the natural gas share increases to 35 percent. After 2020, generation from coal flattens out because more coal-fired capacity is retired and fewer new coal plants are built. The Global Market for Coal Around the world however, coal usage continues to grow among underdevel- oped nations. While coal has primarily been used domestically in the U.S., coal exports are an increasingly important source of revenue for U.S. coal producers. U.S. coal exports hit a record 126 million short tons in 2012. The recent growth in coal net exports has been driven by volume increases in steam coal exports and price increases in metallurgical coal (used in steel production), which sells at a significantly higher price per short ton than steam coal. Coal producers are looking to expand export terminals, but face opposi- tion from environmental groups. A 2014 BP Energy Outlook identified coal as the slowest growing major fuel, with demand rising on average 1.1 percent a year to 2035. Over the period, growth flattens to just 0.6 percent a year after 2020. Nearly all (87%) of the net growth in demand to 2035 is expected to come from just China and India, whose combined share of global coal consumption will rise from 58 percent in 2012 to 64 percent in 2035. Fighting EPA Regulations Proponents of coal are fighting the latest EPA regulations to reduce CO2 in power plants. They argue that carbon capture and storage technology required to make coal plants meet the requirement is not yet technically feasible. And they say the cost of implementing the new technolo- gies could add as much as 40 to 80 percent to electricity costs. In January, the Supreme Court recently upheld the FRQWLQXHGRQQH[WSDJH Coal production by region in the reference case, 1970-2040 Electricity generation from natural gas and coal, 2005-2040