Over 90 percent of the coal used in the United States is used to generate electricity. Coal is also used as a basic energy source in many industries, including the steel, cement, and paper industries.

For electric power

Coal is used to generate more than half of all electricity produced in the United States. Besides electric utility companies, industries and businesses with their own power plants use coal to generate electricity.

For industry

A variety of industries use coal's heat and by-products. Ingredients of coal are used in making plastics, tar, synthetic fibers, fertilizers, and medicines. The concrete and paper industries also burn large amounts of coal. Industrial consumers use over 7 percent of the coal mined in the United States.

For making steel

Coal is baked in hot furnaces until it becomes very hard and dry. The baked coal is called coke. The coke is then used to smelt iron ore into iron, which is used for making steel.

For export

In 2004, about 4 percent of the coal produced in the United States was exported to other countries. More than half of coal exports are used for making steel.

The cost of shipping coal can be more than the cost of mining it, so sometimes coal-fired electric power plants are built near coal mines to lower transportation costs.¹