how does coal power electric
Generating coal power. Coal contains energy that the plants absorbed from the sun â burning coal releases this energy. It can be used to heat water to generate steam, which is then used to drive a turbine to generate electricity. Coal is generally considered to be a reliable energy source for generating electricity. In 2013 around 29% of the world's electricity was generated using coal, and in 2014, coal-fired power stations supplied about 29% of the electricity used in the UK. Coal is abundant but finite.