Coal Formation

Coal was formed from the remains of swamp plant from 300-400 million years ago. The dead plants from the swamp became buried in the swamp. Since there was no oxygen reaching the plants, they didn't rot. The plants formed peat. The Light energy that the plants receive, excites the electrons in chlorophyll. Those electrons are used by the plant to produce ATP and electron carriers. Those are used to form high energy bonds between carbon dioxide molecules to form carbohydrates.