Coal

Coal production has served a minor but important role in the Kansas energy picture. Up through 1973, more coal was produced in the state than was consumed. With the implementation of federal policies in the 1970’s to restrict usage of natural gas for electric generation, coal consumption rose dramatically in the state. During the rest of the decade, annual coal consumption rose twenty-fold from a half million tons in 1972 to over 10 million tons in 1980 (Figure 25). Coal production on the other hand only exceeded 1.5 million tons annually once in that period. For the past decade, production of coal has not surpassed a million tons in any given year, while consumption has increased to around 17 million short tons annually. Coal for Kansas electric generation is primarily imported from Wyoming (Figure 11). The deficit between consumption and production continues to be in contrast to the United States as a whole, which produces more coal than it consumes. In 1997 the U.S. consumed 1.03 billion tons of coal, while producing 1.09 billion tons.

Figure 25 - Kansas coal production and consumption, 1960-1998. The dramatic rise in Kansas coal consumption is the result of federal policies in the 1970’s to restrict usage of natural gas for electric generation. The same policies resulted in a rapid decrease in both consumption and production of natural gas in Kansas (see Figure 21).

Updated January 2001
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