Coal news and updates

Few thought this would ever happen. In fact, if you plot a chart of coal demand in the UK for the period 1860 till 2020, the image tells you more than words can.

 

Coal, the world over is seeing dark days like seldom before. It has been hit by three factors. First the expected down-swing that takes place with most cyclical growth commodities.

 

Second, it has been ravaged by falling gas, then oil, prices. The falling tariffs of, and increasing investments in, solar power are likely to ensure that the demand for coal does not grow strong once again. Most incremental power generation capacities are in renewables, or even nuclear power.

Third, global determination to beat global warming by phasing out coal could be the last straw to break its back.

 

But coal is far from dead. It remains, as a recent EIA paper points out the second-largest energy source worldwide —behind petroleum and other liquids. It is likely to retain this position till 2030. From 2030 through 2040, it will be the third most important energy source, behind both liquid fuels and natural gas.

 

According to the EIA, world coal consumption is expected to increase at an average rate of 0.6% per year, from 2012 to 2040, from 153 quadrillion Btu (British Thermal Unit) in 2012 to 169 quadrillion Btu in 2020 and to 180 quadrillion Btu in 2040. EIA admits that this does not include the recently finalised Clean Power Plan (CPP) regulations in the US, which would reduce world coal consumption to 165 quadrillion Btu in 2020 and to 176 quadrillion Btu in 2040 (about 2.5% in both years). Coal may thus still see more dismal days ahead.

 

There are other worrying signs for coal. China which accounts for almost 50% of world coal consumption has sharply cut back its use. Its investments in solar, other renewables and nuclear appear to be more promising.

Source: Freepressjournal