(Oil & Gas 360) – According to Martin Purvis, CEO of Westmoreland Mining, rumors of coal’s death are vastly premature.
Purvis delivered his worldview on the mineral’s future at the Colorado Mining Association’s 127th National Western Mining Conference in Denver; the conference concludes on February 26.
A central premise of Purvis’ remarks was that global competition in the 21st century will rely heavily on a country’s ability to deliver low-cost and reliable energy.
Presenting a “One Planet- Two World’s” thesis, Purvis noted that coal accounts for over 35% of global electricity generation today, adding that over 50% of the electricity in China today is provided by coal despite the country’s state-sponsored renewable programs push.
The U.S. consumes more than twice the electricity per capita than China; per capita electricity consumption in the U.S. is nine times that of India. One out of every three people in the world lives in either one of those two Asian countries.
The 170-year-old company, with operations along the Rocky Mountains from New Mexico into Alberta, also noted that, in addition to an estimated two billion more inhabitants on Earth in the next 30 years, data center demand will require every electron from every source available as the technology grows more powerful.
As part of his “One Planet- Two World’s” thesis, he said that U.S. data centers are consuming more electricity than the entire country of Indonesia. It’s the world’s fourth populous, with nearly three hundred million people.
Adding to the urgency, he said, is that electricity demand is reverting to increasing demand following a fifteen-year period that saw relatively flat electricity demand in the U.S. starting in 2007.
The company also has a solar division and its by-product from coal use in power plants, fly ash, is proving to be a growing product line as cement manufacturers seek greener options than traditional Portland Cement.
He cautioned that not all indicators for the world’s most dominant energy source are positive. Many of the most productive mines are past peak production and require more maintenance and haul distances.
In assessing the long-term prospects for coal, Purvis concluded by quoting Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, who said, “Successful nations will apply the principle of building the new before discarding the old.”
By Jim Felton for oilandgas360.com
