It takes a little less than one pound of Illinois coal to produce one kilowatt-hour of electricity. Approximately 55 percent of the nation's electricity is generated from coal burning utilities. In Illinois, nearly 50 percent of electricity comes from such utilities. Nearly 60 percent of the country's coal production comes from mines in Illinois and other states east of the Mississippi River.
Coal benefits other major industries.
Nationwide, coal provides America's railroads with more traffic and revenue than any other commodity. In 1991, approximately 41 million tons of Illinois coal, or 68 percent of that year's production, were shipped to other states. More than 75 percent of Illinois' miners work in underground mines, the others at surface operations. Illinois has 25 percent of the nation's total recoverable bituminous coal reserves, or about 30 billion tons. Approximately 181 billion tons of Illinois coal resources have yet to be mined.