US power plant coal stockpiles reached an almost two-year high at the end of February following consistent declines in electric power sector coal consumption, government data show.
Electric power facilities held just under 100.5mn short tons (91.2mn metric tonnes) of coal at the end of February, according to the US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Electric Power Monthly report released on 25 April. A year earlier, power plants held 81.1mn st of coal in inventory.
February was the fifth month out of six that electric power plant coal stockpiles topped year-earlier levels. Inventories also were higher year-on-year in January as well as from September through November 2022, EIA data show.
US coal-fired power plants held the equivalent of 139 days of bituminous coal consumption on site during the month and 129 days of sub-bituminous coal, EIA estimated. That was up from 106 and 117 days in February 2022 and also higher than in January 2023.
Electric power plant coal consumption lagged year-earlier levels 10 out of 12 months ending in February. That contributed to the increase in power plant coal stockpiles.
The sector's coal use fell to 26.7mn st in February from 39.7mn st a year earlier. February's electric power coal consumption was the lowest since April 2020, when business activity was still restricted by Covid-19 mitigation measures. Total electricity coal consumption fell to 27.5mn st from 40.6mn st.
Warmer-than-usual weather in February put downward pressure on coal use. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average temperature in the US was 36.3° F, 2.7° F above average, and marking it as the third warmest February on its' 129-year record.
Total US electricity generation fell to 310.2mn MWh in February from 326.9mn MWh a year earlier, EIA data show.
Coal-fired generation had a steeper percentage decrease, falling to 46.3mn MWh of coal generation during the month from 70.7mn MWh in February 2022 as natural gas and renewable power rose.
The decrease in electricity generation from coal was observed across numerous regions. Washington state, California, Virginia, New Mexico, Montana and Maine were the only six states where coal-fired generation surpassed February 2022 levels.
Nuclear generation fell by 1.7pc on the year prior to 60.8mn MWh in February.
On the other hand, natural gas-fired generation increased to 124.4mn MWh in February from 115.5mn MWh a year earlier. Gas' average share jumped to 40pc from 35pc last year.
Renewable power inched up by 0.2pc to nearly 76mn MWh and accounted for 24.5pc of the US electric power mix, up from 23.2pc a year earlier.
Excluding conventional hydroelectric power, renewable generation was higher in every region of the country except New England and climbed to a total 56.6mn MWh from 52.9mn MWh a year earlier.
