Coal mining boom: How coal came back from the dead

COAL use has not only survived the onslaught of renewables, it has thrived in its global use as a power source, with a new analysis showing renewable energy has failed to have any impact on coal’s global market share over the past 20 years.

COAL use has not only survived the onslaught of renewables, it has thrived in its global use as a power source.

While renewable energy is booming, the coal companies that have stuck with the commodity, despite the climate change debate, are reaping massive financial benefits.

An analysis by BP shows renewable energy has failed to have any impact on coal’s global market share over the past 20 years, and Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan said it showed that the Australian people had been lied to by activists about what was happening in the region.

Meanwhile, companies such as Glencore, which is Australia’s biggest coal producer, are reporting huge growth in earnings on the back of coal. It reported $US9.8 billion ($A13.6 billion) in total coal revenues in 2017, up 43 per cent from the previous year. The BP review showed coal use in power stations had increased in Australia’s biggest markets of China, India, Japan, South Korea and South-East Asia, but had fallen in the US and Europe.

BP senior economist Spencer Dale said the share of non-fossil fuels in 2017 was only a little lower than it was 20 years ago and that it was a huge wake-up call for the world. He said the growth of renewables hadn’t offset the declining share of nuclear.

“The share of coal in the power sector in 1998 was 38 per cent – the same as in 2017 – with the slight edging down in recent years reversing the drift up in the early 2000s associated with China’s expansion,” Mr Dale said.

Senator Canavan said the figures showed reports of coal’s death were greatly exaggerated. ‘‘That’s great news for Queensland,” he said.