| Old King Coal was a dirty old soul, and a merry old soul was he… until a decade ago.
In 2008, coal, natural gas, and petroleum accounted for more than 83% of our total energy consumption.
Coal and oil, however, held very similar monopolies on two sectors: transportation and electric power.
Approximately 91% of our coal consumption was for electricity, and the fossil fuel accounted for over half of the demand in our power sector.
Coal was the undisputed king back then.
And then came the shale revolution, and coal’s market share plummeted over the next decade as a flood of cheap natural gas from the Marcellus shale started to hit the market.
Oh, what a difference it made, dear reader.
Within 10 years, coal’s share of our electric power generation dropped sharply, making up just about one-third of our electric power generation last year.
It was painful for anyone with skin in the coal game.
However, that’s already starting to change, and a certain group of investors is actually forcing coal companies to pay them.
And here’s the best part: It doesn’t matter in the slightest if U.S. coal consumption continues falling.
Making Coal Great Again?
Beautiful, clean coal.
That’s how our president refers to what is arguably the dirtiest source of energy on the planet.
Let’s not fall for that illusion, shall we?
Clean coal doesn’t exist, nor will it ever.
But that doesn’t mean the world is going to give it up anytime soon.
Just because the U.S. is finally making some headway cutting into its coal consumption doesn’t mean the rest of the world will follow suit.
In the last outlook by the International Energy Agency, Asia is projected to make up more than 100% of global demand growth in coal.
I’ve said before that China is a junky for coal, and it will remain the country’s dominant source for electricity for decades to come.
There’s simply no getting around that fact.
Right now we’re probably thinking the same thing — but wait, China has pledged to change its energy dynamic to cleaner sources like natural gas and renewables.
My suggestion is to not buy the bridge they’re selling.
Yet it’s not just China that has a growing thirst for coal.
India’s coal imports jumped roughly 8% year-over-year during the first half of 2018.
If you think we have an addiction, just consider the fact that coal accounts for a full 75% of India’s power generation.
What’s more is that these coal addicts are getting their fix from us.
How to Force Coal Companies to Pay YOU
Between January and July of 2018, India imported a total of 124.5 million metric short tons of coal. Meanwhile, China’s coal imports are at the highest we’ve seen in four years.
And both of them are hungry for U.S. coal.
So far in 2018, U.S. coal exports to Asia have surged 53.6% over last year’s levels.
Don’t take my word for it — you can see it for yourself in the EIA’s latest quarterly report on coal:
Click Image to Enlarge
It makes sense that our coal is going somewhere, doesn’t it?
The signs were there, too.
Last year, U.S. coal production hit a 16-year high of approximately 701 metric tonnes. Of course, U.S. exports in 2017 also surged roughly 58% compared to the previous year.
China, for its part, purchased nearly 6 million tonnes of the black stuff from us last year.
Like I said, the signs were there… but did you notice them?
Few did, including your humble editor.
However, one of my colleagues, Christian DeHaemer, hit the nail right on the head.
Not only did he see this growing surge of U.S. coal exports, but his readers have been raking in cash hand over fist from the fat profits being made by U.S. coal companies.
You see, he’s figured out a way to make them pay YOU!
He laid it all out to me earlier today, and it’s only fair that you have access to that same information.
Chris wrapped up all of the details nice and neatly in his latest investment presentation, which you can access at absolutely no charge to you right here.
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