Random Look At Global Coal Data Points

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I am posting this story for the data points regarding global coal, and not for investment purposes.

SeekingAlpha is reporting:

Environmentalists preaching the death of coal in the United States may be basing their expectations more on hope than on reality. The 15 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired capacity that have been shut or converted since 2009 only accounts for about 4.5% of the 318 GW used in power generation. Only 3.8 GW of capacity are expected to be shut in 2014, just over one percent of total capacity, compared to 10.9 GW closed in 2012.

While the share of electricity generated by coal in the United States has dropped to 37% in 2012 from over 50% as late as 2003, it is expected to stabilize around 40% over the coming years. Further, natural gas prices could jump over the next few years as export capacity increases to countries where prices are between three and five times more expensive than the U.S. spot price.

The marginal loss of coal-fired capacity in the United States is dwarfed by growth across the rest of the world. Approximately 90 GW of capacity is expected to be built in 2013 with 304 GW coming online by 2017.

The real growth story in coal is in emerging Asia which accounts for 90% of the expected capacity build. China produces more than 70% of its electricity from coal and uses so much of the commodity that imports increased by a compound annual rate of 17% over the three years to 2013. While growth in electricity generation (graph below) has slowed, it is still averaging an increase of 5% to 10% per year. Growth should be fairly sustainable as 300 million people move into the cities over the next six years and require more power.