Coal news and updates

Rise in European demand for energy jolts Turkey’s fading coal industry

Amid a global energy crisis, Turkey scrambles to supply surge in local and European demands for coal

Miners rest at a coal mine in the Black Sea city of Zonguldak, northern Turkey, 5 December 2013 (Reuters)

As the ban on Russian oil kicked in earlier this month in tandem with freezing temperatures across Europe, the continent has turned to traditional, outdated energy sources to prevent extensive power shortages this winter. Despite pledges to abandon it altogether, coal is back in the mix.

France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Greece are reactivating coal-fired power plants. Poland is reviving its defunct mines and even opening new ones. Meanwhile, households unable to afford more expensive heating options are firing up their coal furnaces. 

But with Russian coal out of the picture, there’s just not enough of the fossil fuel on the continent to meet this rising demand. This means Europe is looking beyond its borders to buy coal in bulk, and it's shaking up an industrial sector in transition in the process.

Sales by major coal producers Indonesia, South Africa and Australia broke records this year, as did those from the 11th-largest coal producer, Turkey. 

Coal exports in Turkey shot up nearly seven times this May after the European Union announced a ban on Russian coal, and nearly 12 times in August when Russia cut natural gas exports to Europe through Nord Stream 1.