Coal news and updates

Carbon-heavy but cheaper coal to replace gas in European power mix this winter

• Coal power to get cheaper than gas, carbon prices also retreat
• Winter coal margins favoured by carbon prices trends
• Gas seen rising on tight LNG, looming Russia stop, Norway curbs

PARIS/FRANKFURT, July 10 (Reuters) - A rise in European wholesale gas prices over the past several months could encourage more utilities to switch to coal for electricity generation this coming winter, even as countries try to push the carbon-intense fuel out of the power mix.

While many European countries, such as France, Britain and Italy, have already either phased out coal completely or have limited scope for large-scale gas-to-coal switching, it remains a key part of the power mix in Europe's number one energy consumer Germany, and much of eastern Europe.