Coal Shipments To US Power Plants Fall 22% In 2020 Partly Due To COVID-19 - Energy Dept.

Umer Jamshaid Published May 14, 2021 | 02:50 AM

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2021) Coal delivered to US electric utilizes fell 22 percent in 2020, continuing a long term decline in the use of the fossil fuel to generate power, as well as a reduction in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report.

"US coal shipments were down 22% in 2020 from 2019 levels, driven by lower overall electricity demand due to responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued decline in US coal-fired capacity and generation," the report said on Thursday.

The US electric power sector received 428 million short tons of coal in 2020, the lowest annual level for that sector since EIA began publishing the data in 2007, the release said.

More than two-thirds (67 percent) of the coal in 2020 was shipped either completely or in part by rail; the remainder was shipped by river barge, truck, or other methods, the report added.