Clean Coal: America’s Energy Future
Fast Facts
- The United States imports 59 percent of its oil requirements, including crude oil and refined products. Our dependence on foreign suppliers is expected to grow 62 percent by 2025. (EIA Annual Energy Outlook, 2007)
- More than 50 percent of natural gas growth will be fueled by imports over the next 20 years.
- Russia, Iran, Venezuela and Qatar control 60 percent of world gas reserves and are expected to supply growing U.S. natural gas needs. (BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2007)
Coal’s abundance is increasingly crucial for energy security. Abundant coal keeps the electricity supply affordable, drives reliability and provides an essential alternative fuel.
Coal has been the fastest-growing fuel for the past five years. Coal fuels 50 percent of U.S. electricity, more than all other sources combined, at a fraction of the cost of other fuels. And coal will grow to more than 57 percent by 2030 as other fuels face supply and cost constraints.
As U.S. demand for all forms of energy continues to grow, our nation is relying on energy imports from unstable parts of the world. Consider that:
A growing number of nations are nationalizing their energy interests, using their energy resources for political gain and contemplating forming cartels to control costs.
