THE ECONOMICS OF COAL SUPPLY

The status of coal in the fuel market and the factors involved in its decline and acceleration are examined. The efforts of the coal and transportation industries to reduce the delivered cost of coal are described. The growth of the electric utility industry and the resulting effect of coal consumption is discussed. The problem of finding an economical means of eliminating the harmful effects of coal combustion products is also discussed. The wide range of substitution capabilities among the several sources of energy, and most importantly the advent of nuclear power as a competitive source of energy in coal's largest market, can be expected to elicit the technical and economic responses from both the coal and transportation industries that will make possible a rising level of coal use without significant increases in real costs.