Coal news and updates

Rising coal use reverses three years of Co2 declines in US

Here’s the bad news: Increasing coal use in U.S. power plants has contributed to the first annual increase in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in three years.

The good news? The trend is unlikely to continue past 2015 when new federal limits on coal plants kick in, the U.S. Department of Energy predicted on Monday.

U.S. carbon dioxide emissions caused by burning fuel to generate energy jumped 2% in 2013, over the previous year, likely due to an increase in coal use, the U.S. Department of Energy predicted.

The jump in CO2 — a gas that scientists around the world have blamed as a major contributor to global warming – comes as a blow to the Obama administration’s pledge to cut greenhouse-gas emissions using an “all of the above” energy strategy.

Power plant operators used more coal to generate electricity this past year after a rise in natural gas prices made coal more competitive. Coal had lost market share in 2012 following a drop in natural gas prices to historically low levels amid a boom in gas production from shale-rock formations in Pennsylvania and other states.

In 2013, coal regained some ground, as U.S. facilities used about 924 million short tons of coal, a 4% increase over 2012, according to a forecast the DOE issued last week.

But the party won’t last, according to the department. U.S. coal use is likely to drop by nearly 3% in 2015 when new federal limits on mercury emissions become effective, the DOE predicted. Several older coal plants that don’t have emission-control equipment are scheduled to shut down next year.

CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel use are expected to rise again in 2014, although by less than 1%, and in 2015 they’re likely to level off, the DOE predicted. Carbon emissions in 2013 were about 10% below 2005 levels, according to the DOE.

The administration aims to cut carbon emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020.

Source: The Wall Street Journal