Factors of development and introduction of clean coal-mining technologies in the world economy

Abstract

Despite the route lined out since the turn of the 21st century toward the use of renewable energy sources, as of today and for the nearest decades, the fossil energy resources represent the critical part in the world economy. Fossil fuels will keep prevailing in the energy budget of the most countries in 2020 according to the long-term forecasts of the International Energy Agency and by estimates of the other authoritative sources. In the electric energy production, the contribution of coal in 2020 is the largest worldwide and continues growing owing to high-level consumptions in China, India, developing countries in Southeastern Asia, as well as in the mature economies of Japan and Australia. The huge own reserves of coal provide the developing economies with relatively cheap and reliable source of energy, the underside of which is the increased environmental damage. It is critical to develop and investigate approaches to minimization of technological environmental impact at the preserved balance between the economic advance, social welfare and environmental conservation. In the coal-powered energy generation, such approach is application of clean mining technologies. In order to identify application features of such technologies in modern conditions and in the future, it is necessary to review the historical background of economically efficient solutions, the engineering capabilities and the global market conditions in terms of the United States of America as the top coal producer and consumer among the mature economies possessing the advanced coal mining technologies. The outcome of the review is also helpful in the analysis of economic efficiency of clean technologies to be introduced in the coal industry in Russia. Thus, the aim of this article is to examine development and introduction of clean coal technologies in terms of the U.S.A. for tracing promising trends in the conditions of a global economic system.