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Energy

America has the world's largest reserves of recoverable coal, providing the country with an estimated 240-year supply of secure, domestic energy that is more affordable than alternative fuels. Its abundance accounts for why coal generates half of the nation's electricity — by far the largest share — and why coal's share is projected to grow to 54 percent of U.S. electricity generation by 2030, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The development of a viable coal-to-liquid industry in the U.S. has the further potential to expand coal utilization beyond electricity generation to the transportation sector. Poly-generation plants can produce an even wider range products.

Technology is making clean coal a reality. Advances in clean coal technologies and more efficient combustion systems have enabled U.S. power plants to reduce their regulated emissions by 40 percent since 1970, while increasing electric power output over the same period by 181 percent. In fact, a new coal-fueled power plant today emits 70 percent fewer emissions than the typical plant it replaces built in the 1970s. Emissions of SO2, NOx and even mercury are expected to decline further over the next several decades to meet new air quality standards, and coal producers and users are actively involved in needed research, development and eventual commercial deployment of technology to manage greenhouse gas emissions.

Coal: America's Power