Quick Facts About Coal Print
  • Coal is the world's most abundant fossil fuel - more plentiful than oil and natural gas. It is second only to oil as a source of energy that we use. Coal is widely used because it's easily obtained, there's lots of it, it's well distributed throughout the world, and it has a high energy content. 

  • Coal has many important uses, but most significantly in electricity generation, steel and cement manufacture, and industrial process heating.

  • Coal provides over 23% of global primary energy needs. It generates around 39% of the world's electricity. Almost 70% of total global steel production is dependent on coal. 

  • There are four main types of coal and all are found in Canada: anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite. 

  • There is more stored energy in Canadian coal than all the country's oil, natural gas, and oil sands combined.

  • Canada exports about 28 million tonnes of coal annually to more than 20 countries. 

  • Coal is our single largest export to Japan, our second largest trading partner.

  • Each year Canada produces enough coal to fill the Sky Dome in Toronto every week for an entire year.

  • The international trade in coal has expanded faster over the last decade than trade in any other commodity.

  • On a national basis, coal-fired plants are the most important sources of fossil-fuel generated electricity in Canada.

  • Coal is the major fuel source for electric power generation worldwide. More than half of total world coal production provides around 39% of the world's electricity.

  • Electricity generation from coal is now 8 times more efficient than at the turn of the last century. Coal is the single largest commodity carried by Canadian railways.

  • Canada ranks tenth in the world in total coal reserves with 4 billion tonnes of bituminous coal. That's coal covering a football field to a height of about 4,500 kilometers! 

  • Worldwide, more electricity is generated from coal than any other source.

  • Coal is also indispensible for iron and steel production. About 600 million tonnes of coal-equivalent to approximately 16% of total hard coal production, is currently utilized by the steel industry. 

  • Canadian coal is exported to 21 countries on five continents with an annual value of approximately $2 billion.


 


Did You Know?
Coal is one of the largest commodities carried by Canadian railways.
 


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