Coal

US coal stockpiles hit highest levels since 2020

Coal-fired electricity has declined in the U.S. over the past decade, but the EIA expects that trend to reverse this year.
US coal stockpiles hit highest levels since 2020
(Brown coal power plant. Image by jvdwolf on 123rf)

Coal stockpiles at U.S. electric power plants totaled 138 million short tons at the end of May, the most since the first half of 2020 when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced electricity demand and coal consumption, according to analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In the U.S., most power plants begin increasing their coal stocks in the spring to prepare for the higher demand in the summer and winter. Additionally, U.S. power plants typically stockpile much more coal than they consume in a month, EIA said, with more than 90% of coal-fired power plants currently having enough coal to generate electricity for 60 days or more.

Coal-fired electricity has declined in the U.S. over the past decade, and coal plant stockpiles have been declining as well, EIA said. Coal consumption by the electric power sector totaled 385 million tons in 2023, 43% less than in 2016. Coal stockpiles reached 131 million tons by the end of 2023, 19% less than stockpiles at the end of 2016.

The amount of coal transported in the United States decreased 8% in 2023, continuing a trend in which coal shipments have generally decreased over the past two decades as coal’s share of power generation has declined in the United States. The amount of coal transported to power plants, which are often located far from mines, decreased by more than half, falling from 957 million tons in 2010 to 422 million tons in 2023.

However, EIA expects the decline in coal consumption to reverse this year. In its recently published July update to the Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA forecast an increase in use of coal to generate electricity in the United States this year, with use dropping back to about 2023 amounts in 2025.

Although the amount of coal being transported closely follows the coal consumption rate, the two measurements can differ from year to year. During 2023, U.S. coal producers shipped 35 million more tons (9%) than U.S. power plants consumed. Surplus deliveries last year boosted inventory levels at power plants by 48%, reducing deliveries in early 2024. Conversely, coal shipments to power plants in 2021 and 2022 were 59 million tons less than the amounts consumed during those two years, and inventories dropped to less than 100 million tons.

Also, in late 2023, EIA projected that coal-fired power plants will generate less electricity in 2024 (599 billion kwh) than the combined generation from solar and wind (688 billion kWh) for the first time on record.