If you think coal is going away anytime soon—think again.

No other natural resource has enabled our survival and prosperity quite like coal. Yet, there’s a narrative being pushed today that our world would be a better place without it. To this, we say, ‘not so fast.’

Coal continues to be one of the most abundant, affordable, and dispatchable forms of energy in the world. It remains a vital component in the making of steel, cement, fertilizers, and thousands of other products essential to our quality of life.

This website lays out the coal hard truth with primary sources, data and powerful evidence about coal’s immense contributions to society. Your thoughtful consideration of coal and other carbon-based natural resources is certainly welcome here. Thank you for joining this important conversation.

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Buried fortune: US finds $8.4 billion in rare earths sitting in coal ash landfills
For years, the United States has depended on imports of rare earth elements, the critical materials found in everything from smartphones to renewable energy technologies. But in a surprising twist, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin have discovered that a massive domestic supply has been sitting right under our noses all along. ...

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  • U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Renewable Energy Materials Properties Database: Summary (August 2023) (Figure 3, page 8. Steel is 9% of material for 1 MW of land based wind, or 108 metric tonnes. Concrete is 34% of material for 1 MW, or 408 metric tonnes).
  • Gulhan Ozbayoglu, Comprehensive Energy Systems: Energy Production from Coal (2018) 788-821. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809597-3.00341-2. (Chapter 3.19.1.1.2, page 791. 0.77 tonne of coal per tonne of steel translates to 83 tonnes of coal in steel per MW of onshore wind capacity. Chapter 3.19.1.1.3, page 792. 0.2 – 0.45 tonne of coal per tonne of cement translates to 82 – 184 tonnes of coal per MW of onshore wind capacity. Total tonnes of coal per MW of onshore wind capacity = 165-266 tonnes of coal)

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Policymaker’s Issue Kit

Facts and Responses for a More Measured, Analytical, and Moral Approach to Our Nation’s Energy Policies