Hard coal consumption drops 24% in Jan-Sep

The consumption of hard coal in January to September 2019 decreased 24 per cent from that in the corresponding period of last year, according to the Statistics Finland.

The consumption of hard coal as a fuel for generating electricity and heat amounted to 1.7 million tonnes, corresponding to 43 petajoules in energy content.

The hard coal consumed in January to March was 45 per cent less than the average volume during this millennium.

Compared to the average of the past five years, 18 per cent less hard coal was consumed in January to September.

The biggest change was seen in the third quarter of the year when the consumption of hard coal decreased by 43 per cent compared to one year ago.

Consumption of hard coal decreased in combined heat and power production, in separate electricity production and in the industrial sector.

In 2019, the use of hard coal has been completely abandoned in some production plant’s boilers.

Hard coal consumption in Finland typically fluctuates seasonally. Some of the fluctuation is explained by the natural variation in the need for electricity and heat between the summer and winter seasons.