
Coal Is Now the World's Most Expensive Fossil Fuel - adventured
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-23/coal-is-world-s-most-expensive-fuel-after-oil-s-brutal-collapse
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nie100sowny
Bloomberg's journalists should really start to consult their articles with
some experts...

First of all, oil is still not cheaper than coal in terms of energy
efficiency:

1 oil barrel is equal to 159 kilograms.

1 metric ton is equal to 1000 kilograms.

oil heat of combustion = 47 MJ/kg (optimistically)

coal heat of combustion = 25 MJ/kg

[https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/facts-and-
figu...](https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/facts-and-figures/heat-
values-of-various-fuels.aspx)

coal price per metric ton from article = $66.85

oil price per barrel from article = $26.98

Which give us:

coal: 25 [MJ/kg] * 1000 [kg] = 25000 MJ / 66.85$ = 374 [MJ per $]

oil: 47 [MJ/kg] * 159 [kg] = 7473 [MJ] / $26.98 = 276 [MJ per $]

Secondly, we have regulations and limits on coal and some artificial anti free
market regulations on renewable. So comparing it does not make any sense. You
newer know what would be a price of renewable energy in total without these
regulations.

Thirdly, as a homework please make a similar calculation for wood :)

~~~
notlukesky
In addition it seems that that the drop in oil prices is more from the massive
drop in demand due to the coronavirus than the new flood of supply from Saudi
Arabia. So if demand picks up oil prices will go up.

~~~
nie100sowny
I totally agree. Additionally in times of crisis or recession coal price may
also drop as all industry related materials.

