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Good news for railroads: A recent National Coal Council (NCC) study recommends the U.S. Secretary of Energy maximize coal use to generate clean electricity, and produce transportation fuels, natural gas, hydrogen and ethanol during the next 20 years.

Entitled “Coal: America’s Energy Future,” the study states that by using more coal — railroads’ second-largest revenue-generating commodity — the United States can reduce energy costs 33 percent and increase the gross domestic product by more than $3 trillion.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts energy consumption will increase 27 percent through 2030. U.S. coal reserves, expected to last more than a century, can support 100 gigawatts of new electricity generation, according to the year-long study.

“We have a vast supply of domestic coal resources to meet soaring energy needs while improving energy security, lowering costs and maintaining the U.S. economy as the premier world economy,” said Thomas G. Kraemer, NCC chairman and BNSF Railway Co. group vice president for coal, in a prepared statement.