Authors: Fred Palmer and Frank Clemente PhD, Principals, Coal Is the Cornerstone, Inc.
March 24, 2025 - Mission: This is the first in a series of articles from Coal is the Cornerstone, Inc. identifying and documenting the societal value of coal. Over the past two decades, rhetoric and hyperbole have camouflaged the continuing contributions coal makes to the lives of virtually every human on the planet. Energy is the sine qua non of life, and coal has been, is, and continues to be our most important collective source of energy. From electricity to steel to cement to communication coal is the fundamental building block of modern civilization. Our general goal in these articles is to provide evidence of the role coal plays in contemporary society and the vast opportunities it presents for a world soon to have 10 billion people.
Specifically, our initial focus is on the role that coal plays in the production of electricity and steel, not only in the United States but internationally as well. Existing coal power plants, the hundreds of new coal plants under construction, as well as retired plants that could be recommissioned, need an advocate highlighting their potential to (1) affordably enhance the reliability of power systems and (2) improve the quality of life of billions by increasing access to electricity. Simply put, an expanded fleet of coal power plants is emerging as the world’s greatest single electricity asset. Similarly, the role of steel in enabling the expansion, renovation and construction of cities receives scant recognition in the media or elsewhere. Yet, without steel, modern cities cannot be maintained or built, and without coal, steel cannot be produced at scale.
The Value of Coal
Coal has been the material foundation of industrialization, urbanization, modernization and technological development for more than two centuries. The examples are endless. It was coal that propelled an Industrial Revolution in England that spread throughout the world. It was coal that provided the electrification of virtually every society. Coal was the foundational fuel for the electrification of the Tennessee Valley Authority and brought myriad associated benefits to the cities, towns and farms across the entire American landscape. It was coal that powered the Transcontinental Railroad and the steamships that traversed every ocean. Coal produced the steel that enabled the skyscrapers, bridges, hospitals, highways, dams. irrigation systems and power plants. Such steel remains the backbone of practically every home, factory, school and hospital. And it was coal that provided the means to lift millions upon millions out of poverty-- saved and extended human existence to enjoy a higher quality of life. It is no coincidence that the increase in life expectancy from 48 in 1900 to 76 in 2000 was highly correlated with the rise of coal-based electricity. No wonder that the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) identified "electrification" as the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century.
But coal is far more than history. It is a current global reality, improving the daily lives of billions of people throughout the world. Coal provides over 35% of the world’s electricity -- over 4 times more than wind and upwards of 7 times more than solar. Natural Gas generation would have to increase more than 50% to match that of coal. Coal is the energy basis for the production of about 70% of the world’s steel and almost 60% of cement. Urbanization - the most important demographic trend of the Century- is wholly dependent upon electric power, steel and cement. The 4.6 billion people in cities today will increase to 6.7 billion by 2050 - an increase of almost 85 million every year, virtually a new Mexico City every 3 months. In the United States, coal remains the solid source of electricity at 16% and experience has shown that when a Polar Vortex strikes the nation it is reliable coal that picks up the slack left by other fuels,
Yet, despite the documented socio-economic value of coal, a confluence of politics, regulatory over-reach, extreme environmentalism, and an either biased or uneducated segment of the media has pushed this crucial fuel to the back of the room—coal is generally mentioned last in a litany of fuels and oftentimes not even included. This void of visibility led a taxi driver in New York to ask: “Do we still even use that stuff?” Consider CERAWeek 2025 in Houston this March- attended by 10,000 and what TIME Magazine called the energy “industry’s most influential annual conference”. Yet, of about 1,000 speakers, and literally hundreds of sessions, only small handful represented an actual coal producer, an incredible under-representation of a fuel that produces one third of the World’s electric power and whose steel/cement components enable the construction and operation of every drilling rig, windmill and solar farm on the planet. There would be no CERAWeek without coal.
But wishful thinking can only take one so far. Speeches, conferences, assumptions and computer models are no substitute for steel in the ground. According to the 2024 Global Energy Monitor, over 30 countries are building, permitted or announced hundreds of new coal power plants totaling well over 400 GW of capacity. For comparison, coal generation capacity in the US is about 190 GW, less than half of what is being put in place internationally as new build. Coal marches on.
This failure to recognize the continuing and ever emerging contributions of coal is pervasive and somewhat irrational. For instance, in the US, the National Coal Council (NCC) was a Congressionally mandated group operating since 1985 to provide the government with information on coal in America. Over the years, a series of 37 comprehensive reports was produced and submitted to the Secretary of Energy. But, in November 2021, under President Joe Biden, the DOE did not renew the Council’s charter and disbanded this productive national group as part of what could only be called a War on Coal. Ironically, a DOE report a few years earlier had concluded: “current data greatly underestimate the size and importance of the coal industry”.
To fill the void left by the Biden dismissal of the Coal Council, we have formed Coal is the Cornerstone, Inc. to give voice to supporters of coal in its many dimensions and contributions. Those speaking for coal are often shouted down, ridiculed and ignored by extremists pushing their own version of what reality should be. Put bluntly, coal has been demonized to the point where few individuals or organizations now speak in favor of its use. Competing energy industries routinely bash the coal industry in self-serving accusations and misinformation. Our goal is to aggressively reinsert coal into the dialogue of energy in United States and abroad. Articles in CoalZoom and presentations in other media, testimony to regulators and educational materials for the public at large will demonstrate how coal continues as a crucial enabler of electrification, construction and communication. It is not for nothing that global coal consumption in 2024 increased to an all-time high of over 9.5 billion short tons. But the forces arrayed against coal are huge, powerful and heavily funded. Increasing the visibility of coal in the public domain will be costly. Our mutual commitment to coal advocacy runs strong and deep. But we need help to get this endeavor off the ground and ask like-minded individuals and companies supporting coal to make a financial contribution to Coal is the Cornerstone, Inc. Please contact Fred Palmer (1-314-409-0435) for details as to how you can support the fight for coal. We are glad to answer any questions or visit companies seeking to join the effort.
Frederick D. Palmer Esq. graduated from The University of Arizona law school in 1969 and joined the staff of Congressman Morris Udall. He later joined Western Fuels Association as general counsel for 5 years and then served as CEO for a 20 year total. He led the fight to preserve WFA coal plants against the challenges from Al Gore. He joined Peabody Energy as Senior Vice President for Legal, Policy and International Activities, reporting directly to CEO Greg Boyce for almost 15 years. Palmer was Chair of the World Coal Association Board and instrumental in securing Shenhua a seat on the Board and later their representative as Chair. He received the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers Award for “Distinguished Achievement in Coal Technology”. He continues to pursue the goal of advancing coal utilization focused on electricity and steel for all people and all seasons.
Frank Clemente PhD. specializes in research on the socioeconomic impact of energy policy. Professor Clemente has served on the faculties of Penn State University, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Kentucky. He is the author of The Global Value of Coal, published by the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2012). He was Editor of the National Coal Council 2012 Report “Harnessing Coal’s Carbon Content to Advance the Economy…” He has published numerous articles in such media as American Coal, Electrical World, Oil and Gas Journal, Nuclear News, and Public Utilities Fortnightly. Professor Clemente has extensive experience in writing and presenting data on the value of coal to the United States and the World.
BOTTOMLINE: “This failure to recognize the continuing and ever emerging contributions of coal is pervasive and somewhat irrational.”
