INFO YO 006

"Just keep on usin' me, until you use me up" - Bill Withers

Good day to everyone. So many interesting things to talk about and to discuss. This was the most interesting to me in general:

Coal. Yes Coal. Countries still use it for many things including electricity. Burn a coal ember, you get BTU’s coming out the other side. Recently I was intrigued by where large amounts of coal were in the world. China is the largest coal producing country, next India and in third is Indonesia as of 2023 numbers. The US has the most coal on reserve right now. I don’t want you to forget the different types of coal and what the coal is generally used for:

Here are the most recent price for wholesale coal per million British Thermal Unit in USD:

Whats interesting with coal that technically it is a natural formation since it comes from the earth. Dare not consider coal to be a renewable form of energy? Maybe how waste coal is treated? There are renewable energy certificates for waste coal in the US classified as a Tier 2 renewable asset but I digress to you all.

Many different countries as mentioned have access to this natural resource in the earth. One country in particular that is interesting to understand is South Africa and how rich in coal South Africa is. South Africa has a lot of coal. South Africa is one of the seven largest coal-producing countries and South Africa one of the top five coal-exporting countries in the world. The coal in South Africa is used primarily to generate electricity, liquid fuel and also in households for heating, cooking and lighting for a long time. Here is a picture to see the different kinds of South African coal and where they are regionally:

I think there is a use case for coal and the technologies to help the carbon output of the coal is getting exponentially better. It certainly has its purpose for generating electricity. Here is a look of what is going on in the US as far as which state is producing the most coal by color:

If you can notice the darkest blue color is Wyoming. Black Thunder Mine, in the Southern Powder River Basin of Wyoming, United States, is the largest coal mine in the world in terms of production volume. It is about 54 miles south of Gillette, Wyoming.

Conclusion: As I have mentioned before, All forms of energy to generate electricity is certainly needed. I do not want to have the oceans boil however I do want electricity to have good quality and for it to be generated, transmitted and delivered easily for all to have access to AND not have humans change lifestyles to accommodate the electricity, rather the electricity is an accommodation for the humans.

Have a great day and just dont get coal in your stocking if you believe in that stuff :P

Peace,

Bass

*ALL views and opinions are my own. All data/research comprised can simply be looked up by any search engine.