Electrical Energy Production from Coal: Technical and Economic Performances during the Last Twenty Years

During the last twenty years (2000 - 2020) coal was the first fuel for electrical energy production. Even if the global production is decreasing, it has still the highest share in the world energy mix. The paper presents an analysis of the last twenty years of coal production, it analyses the technical indicators (i.e., capacity factor, energy efficiency and emissions) as well as the levelized cost of energy. The presented analysis is based on data publicly available, summing up the actual working conditions of the coal power plants. Main outcomes highlight that actual indicators are significantly lower than rated values; this is mainly due to market conditions that are often unfavorable for production from coal. Finally, the results can be used for adjusting the most recent energy policies, that are going to face new market conditions because of force maj eure events (i.e., Ukraine crisis) as well as decarbonization processes, already developed in many European countries.