Energy from coal

Coal has been used as a source of energy for thousands of years. Today, coal has again replaced oil as the world's most widely used fuel. 

A natural fuel

Coal is made from plants and other organisms trapped beneath the surface of the Earth. Under intense pressure and high tem-peratures, these organisms have been transformed over millions of years.

The different kinds of coal include lignite, mineral coal and anthracite. Peat is not classified as biomass or as fossil fuel according to IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), although it could be defined as slowly renewable. It has its own category ’peat’.

The types of coal vary in geological age and carbon content, giving them different properties. They also contain varying amounts of water, with lignite containing up to 50% and mineral coal rarely consisting of more than 20%.

Coal and the environment

Coal contains many different elements, some of which can harm the environment. When coal is burnt, carbon dioxide is formed – which is the most significant man-made climate-changing pollutant. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are also produced.

The future

There are large amounts of coal present around the globe, and it is mined almost everywhere. Many European countries are dependent on coal power to meet their energy needs. In 2008, coal power accounted for 28% of toal electricity generation in the EU.

Several of the European countries are working to reduce the use of coal and major efforts are being made to manage the climate inpact of coal power plants,such as development of clean coal technologies to reduce CO₂ emissions.

Share of coal used in electricity generation: