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Monthly Archives: September 2011

Sustainable energy for all needs to include coal

Benjamin Sporton, WCA Policy Director

Benjamin Sporton, WCA Policy Director

Last week the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, announced the formation of a High Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All. The group is to be led by UNIDO Secretary-General Kandeh Yumkella and Bank of America Chairman Charles Holliday.

Access to energy is a key development challenge. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) 1.4 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity, with another billion having to deal with unreliable electricity networks.

In November the IEA will be releasing the World Energy Outlook 2011 (WEO). In a video previewing WEO’s  release IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol said:

“Coal is a key fuel. And when we look at the last 10 years, the global energy mix, if it increased by 100 units – coal, oil, gas, everything put together – 50 units are coming from coal. A backbone of electricity generation of today, and according to the analysis will stay so with the current policies in place.”

Even more importantly coal is expected to play a significant role in providing the increased electricity required to meet the energy demands of those who currently lack access to electricity.

If the world is to meet global emissions reduction targets while meeting the ever-growing demand for energy, then advanced coal technologies – such as high efficiency low emissions power generation and carbon capture and storage – must be supported by governments and other international institutions.

It is therefore essential that the role of coal in meeting energy access objectives is given due consideration alongside other energy sources. The coal industry is committed to a sustainable energy future in which the world succeeds in addressing both its development and environmental objectives.

The High Level Group must recognise that coal will be part of securing a sustainable energy for all.

September 27, 2011 | Categories: Coal News, Sustainable Development

New WCA Case Study:CONSOL ENERGY INC.

The  latest WCA Case Study is now available to view online and download. Read how CONSOL Energy’s R&D team is leading groundbreaking research into low-cost mercury control technologies.

Download the full case study

September 27, 2011 | Categories: Case Studies, Coal News

Friends of the SET-Plan Initiative

As part of the Friends of the SET-Plan Initiative, the World Coal Association has signed a formal letter addressed to the EU Heads of State and Government and to the Presidents of the European Commission, the European Parliament and of the European Council.

This letter calls for funding under the EU and Member State budgets to match private investment in Strategic Energy Technologies including Carbon Capture and Storage.

Read the formal letter

September 21, 2011 | Categories: Coal News, Sustainable Development

EC bets on coal to alleviate energy poverty at its borders

Aleksandra Tomczak, European Specialist

Aleksandra Tomczak, European Specialist

EU Commissioners for Energy and Enlargement recently sent a letter to the World Bank President to support the Bank’s involvement in the construction of a new coal-fired power plant in Kosovo. EU support comes at a time when the World Bank is revising its energy strategy and is considering plans to limit its involvement in financing coal power plants. However, the case of Kosovo proves that there is still a need for international financial institutions to finance coal projects in countries with acute energy poverty problems and energy security challenges.

Kosovo is facing major energy poverty challenges as power outages are reported 90 days a year and 80% of local entrepreneurs see energy shortages as the main problem in business development. The growing population of Kosovo and increasing energy consumption mean that electricity demand in 2033 is expected to be over 60% higher than today. Currently Kosovo relies on two brown coal power plants to generate its electricity. Some of the generation units were built in the 1960s and given the age of the plant, average efficiency is as low as 25-28%. Kosovo has no natural gas infrastructure or resources but local studies show that it could have one of the world’s greatest brown coal reserves. That’s why brown coal lies at the centre of the new Kosovo Energy Strategy for 2019, with the key objective to build a new brown coal plant.

The new plant will use the best available technology and is planned to be 42% efficient. Given the currently low efficiency rates, replacing the existing power plant with modern technology will allow CO2 and particle emissions to be reduced by over a third. Renovation and replacement of the existing electricity generation infrastructure has so far benefited from the financial support of the World Bank, the European Commission and the United States Agency for International Development. It is imperative that this region receives continued support from these institutions. Without it, Kosovo will not have access to the most advanced coal technologies which are necessary to provide a reliable and affordable source of electricity, generated in line with the EU’s environmental standards.

September 14, 2011 | Categories: Climate change, Coal News

CCS in the CDM – time to get moving

Benjamin Sporton, WCA Policy Director

Benjamin Sporton, WCA Policy Director

Last week I attended a workshop on the inclusion of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).  The workshop was set up following the decision at last year’s COP16 climate conference in Cancun that CCS should be included in the CDM provided a set of rules (known as modalities and procedures) could be agreed to.

Getting agreement on these rules is the last step on the long road to get CDM eligibility for CCS projects. With a range of experts invited to present at the workshop, three things were clear:

  1. CCS is an essential technology if the world is going to meet its emissions reduction targets.
  2. CCS is ready to be deployed now, this view was backed up by a speaker from the Natural Resources Defense Council in the US; and
  3. Issues that opponents of including CCS in the CDM have raised as problems can easily be addressed in the modalities and procedures.

In the months leading up to the next round of climate negotiations at COP17 in Durban, South Africa the UNFCCC Secretariat will have the task of developing rules for the inclusion of CCS in the CDM. Their task should be made easier by the view of the participants that the rules for CCS should simply be added to those that already exist for the CDM, rather than starting from scratch all over again.

Opening the workshop, the UAE Special Envoy for Energy and Climate highlighted that only about seven of the 80 CCS projects around the world are currently taking place in developing countries – and that there are very few CDM projects in Africa. With the significant development issues being faced in Africa, access to clean energy will be key to poverty eradication. Africa also has significant coal reserves and including CCS in the CDM will help support the deployment of cleaner coal technologies across the continent.

This workshop showed the importance of deploying CCS in the developing world and that the real challenges are economic rather than technical or legal. That means when we get to Durban at the end of the year it will be imperative for real progress to be made on this issue, get the modalities and procedures signed off, and support deployment of this key technology in countries that need access to clean energy.

September 12, 2011 | Categories: Climate change, Coal News, Sustainable Development
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