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Coal consumption posted strongest growth among fossil energy sources in 2014

Coal 2014: again the world's fastest-growing primary energy source and an indispensable asset for the success of the energy turnaround.

According to the German Coal Importer Association, In 2014, coal was again the fastest-growing fossil primary energy source in the world. According to the BP Statistical Review 2014, it satisfied around 30% of the world's demand for primary energy, which totaled 18.2bn TCE.

Global hard coal consumption rises by 2.1%
According to initial estimates by BP in its Statistical Review 2014, global energy consumption increased by 2.1% in 2013 to 18.2bn TCE, compared to 17.8bn TCE in 2012, the German Coal Importer Association said in its latest press release. The association further said that, the backdrop to this development is provided by stronger economic growth in India, Europe, the USA and a number of emerging countries, which were able to more than compensate for the rather lower growth rate in China. PEC in the EU-27/28 for 2013 (the most recent available data), on the other hand, showed a slight decline of 0.3%.

The Verein der Kohlenimporteure e.V.(VDKi) further noted that, in global terms, coal consumption again posted the strongest growth among the fossil energy sources. Its growth rate in comparison with 2013 was 2.1%, compared with increases of 1.2% for both oil and gas consumption. In the USA, the proportion of coal-fired power generation increased from 37% to 39%. In China, however, the proportion of coal-fired power generation decreased for the first time by 0.3%. With average rates of increase amounting to 2-3% per year over the past five years, coal remains the Number 1 source of primary energy in the 21st century and has been the second-most important source of primary energy in the world since 2012, surpassed only by oil.

Estimates by the European Commission indicate that total primary energy consumption in Europe in 2013 declined by 0.6%, or 25m TCE, to around 2.4bn TCE.

According to initial estimates by Eurostat, the primary energy source mix for power generation in the EU-28 has shifted slightly in favour of renewable energies. Of the 3,100 TWh generated in 2014, which was almost 3% below the previous year's level, 24% (around 1% more) was accounted for by renewable energies, 28% by nuclear energy and some 48% (around 2% less) by conventional power generation with coal, gas and oil. In Europe, hard coal production declined as well – by 7m tonnes to 108m tonnes, while hard coal imports were down by 9m tonnes (- 4.4%) to 205m tonnes.

About the German Coal Importer Association
The Verein der Kohlenimporteure e.V.(VDKi) is the lobby organisation for the hard coal import market in Germany. Its German and other European members come from the power generation, industry, trading and logistics sectors. The Association currently has 73 members, who in their plants and facilities consume around 60 - 70% of Germany's hard coal demand – which for its part amounts to some 65m tonnes. This means that the VDKi represents a very sizeable majority of the hard coal market (German and imported hard coal) in Germany.

source: http://coalspot.com