Coal

Analysis & Projections

Attend meeting to discuss coal survey changes ›

Register for stakeholder meeting
EIA's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook for coal ›

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, released monthly.
Energy Perspectives: For most fuel sources, domestic production has been increasing ›

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy, December 13, 2012.
U.S. monthly coal production ›

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Coal News and Markets report, released weekly.
U.S. coal production by quarter ›

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Quarterly Coal Report.
EIA projects reduced share of electricity generation from coal ›

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2013 Early Release, December 5, 2012.

Energy In Brief Articles

What is the role of coal in the United States?

The United States holds the world's largest estimated recoverable reserves of coal and is a net exporter of coal. In 2011, our nation's coal mines produced more than a billion short tons of coal, and more than 90% of this coal was used by U.S. power plants to generate electricity.

See all Energy in Brief articles ›

Coal Explained

Where our coal comes from

In 2011, the amount of coal produced at U.S. coal mines was 1,094.3 million short tons. Coal is mined in 25 states. Wyoming mines the most coal, followed by West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Use of electricity

Coal is the most common fuel for generating electricity in the United States. In 2011, coal was the fuel for 42% of the 4 trillion kilowatthours of electricity generated in the United States.

See more coal topics ›

Annual Energy Outlook 2013 Early Release Overview

Released December 5, 2012

This is an abridged version of the Annual Energy Outlook that highlights changes in the AEO Reference case projections for key energy topics, including coal. The Early Release includes data tables for the Reference case only. The full AEO2013 will be released Spring of 2013. The projection period now extends to 2040, 5 years beyond AEO2012 projections

Annual Coal Distribution Report

Released November 7, 2012

Provides final 2011 data for domestic coal distribution by origin state, destination state, consumer category, and method of transportation. Also provided is a summary of foreign coal distribution by coal-producing state.

Weekly Coal Production Report

This weekly report provides estimates for U.S. coal production by state based on railroad car loading data: the weekly version of the report contains data for the latest week; and the monthly version of the report contains data for the latest month.