What's the energy of the future?
Some hold out hope that renewables like solar and wind will win the day in powering the globe.
There's also a big nuclear contingent.
And yet others are convinced that the future of energy belongs to natural gas.
They're all wrong. The energy of the future is coal.
Peabody CEO Greg Boyce says it is expected to become the world's largest energy source, and has been the fastest-growing major global fuel.
He's not alone in thinking so. According to BP's Statistical Energy Review:
Coal will remain China's principal commercial fuel forever. Its share will fall from 70 percent to 55 percent by 2030, but only because growth will have slowed and not because of energy competition.
Same for India: Coal will remain the primary source of energy growth, with consumption growing 48 percent over the next 20 years.
Global coal use will grow 39 percent over the next decade, tops for all electricity-generating fuels.
Nuclear, hydro and other renewables combined will only match coal's share of the global energy mix in the next 10 years.
Consumption growth in non-OECD countries will average at least 2.1 percent per year through 2030.
Click here to see stunning images of coal >
Here's what all that looks like in graph form:
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-energy-of-the-future-coal-2012-10?op=1#ixzz3V6MVgURv