Mining giant Peabody Energy stated that swelling demand for electricity in the United States has the potential to increase coal consumption as much as 57%, according to Bloomberg.
With the U.S. aiming to meet soaring demand and the Trump administration working to support the coal industry, Peabody stated in a recent investor presentation that it expects utilities to increase output from coal plants that are operating well below full capacity. Raising utilization to “historic capacity factors” could result in more than 250 million tons of additional annual demand in the coming years, the company added.
“Peabody sees great untapped potential for existing U.S. coal plants,” Mark Spurbeck, Peabody chief financial officer, told Bloomberg by email.
Electricity demand in the U.S. is set to climb 25% through 2030, driven by factories, increasingly electrified homes, and the booming buildout of data centers used for artificial intelligence. At the same time, supply-chain constraints have hindered utilities’ efforts to add more natural gas plants, which is spurring increased reliance on underused coal plants.
Existing U.S. coal capacity was operating at 42% last year, according to Peabody, compared to 72% in 2008.