Coal news and updates

Ministers should ban coal power stations from a scheme paying their owners subsidies to provide backup power, a leading energy company and green energy group have urged.

 

Scottish Power and RenewableUK said it was an “obvious paradox” and “counterproductive” that the government had committed to closing all coal power stations by 2025 while continuing to support them through the capacity market, its system for ensuring power when supplies are low.

 

Three major coal power plants closed last year, largely because of the impact of the government’s carbon tax. But coal is still expected to win a significant number of contracts in a capacity market auction starting on Tuesday to provide backup power next winter, paid through subsidies levied on household energy bills.

Scottish Power, one of the UK’s big six energy companies, said it was time to exclude coal from future auctions, the first of which is due in December.

 

“As coal has to be replaced by 2025, we think that the government should now consider introducing an emissions restriction as part of the qualifying criteria for the next auction in December and any subsequent such auctions,” said Keith Anderson, the chief corporate officer of Scottish Power. As the most carbon-intensive fuel, coal would likely fall foul of any such restriction.

 

“Replacing old coal with new gas is by far the cheapest way of reducing carbon emissions from the power sector and securing supply,” Anderson added.

 

The company wants to build a new gas power station, but lost out for that plant in the last capacity market auction after the price went relatively low, disappointing government hopes of encouraging new gas power stations to be built.

Source: The Guardian