Abstract
In 1990 fifty countries had coal fired power stations and another twenty had plans to construct them. Despite the fact that coal, worldwide, remains the most important fuel in electricity generation assessing future demand requires careful analysis of potential restraints and opportunities. Some of the factors to be considered are: decline in reserve generating capacities; changes in electricity demand; environmental concerns; interfuel competition; increased electricity trade; acquisition of funding and expertise to construct new generating capacity and the related infrastructure. The total coal fired generating capacity is expected to double over the next thirty years and the international trade in coal is forecast to increase by an additional 200 Mt by 2000 and a further 100 Mt by 2010. By the year 2000 it is estimated that the world's power stations will use 370 Mt/year of seaborne traded coal.
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