The largest source of primary energy, coal

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moinsdewatt
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Re: The world's largest source of primary energy, coal




by moinsdewatt » 28/11/21, 12:18

The 628 MW Pego thermal power station, the last coal-fired power station in Portugal, stops operating on coal.
It will eventually go back to biomass.

Portugal closes its last remaining coal plant

Michelle Lewis - Nov. 23rd 2021 Electrek

Portugal has shuttered its last remaining coal plant, becoming the fourth country in the European Union to do so, along with Austria, Belgium, and Sweden.


The Pego plant in central Portugal was shut down on Friday, 10 days ahead of schedule. It was Portugal's second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
Saturday was the first day that electricity was produced in Portugal without the use of coal.


As Electrek reported in July 2020, Portuguese energy utility EDP announced the closure of its Sines coal power plant, which emitted 13.5% of all carbon dioxide in Portugal.

In 2017, Portugal signed a declaration to exit coal by 2030 at COP23 in Bonn, Germany. The country beat its original target by nine years.

Kathrin Gutmann, Europe Beyond Coal campaign director, said:

Portugal is the perfect example of how once a country commits to leaving coal, the pace of the phase out inevitably accelerates. The benefits of transitioning to renewables are so great, once started, it only makes sense to get out of coal as quickly as possible.

The challenge now is to ensure utilities do not make the mistake of replacing coal with fossil gas, or unsustainable biomass.

Pego's owner, Endesa, is considering converting the 682 megawatt plant to burn wood pellets.

The EU is considering tightening rules on whether wood-burning energy could be classified as clean energy.

Francisco Ferreira, president of Portuguese, ZERO, said [via Berlin-based group Europe Beyond Coal]:

Freeing ourselves from our biggest source of greenhouse gases is a momentous day for Portugal. But it is soured by the prospect of the plant being converted to burn forests.

Ditching coal only to switch to the next worst fuel is clearly not an answer. Instead, the focus should be on rapidly upscaling our renewable energy capacity in wind and solar.

Reuters points out:

Although a hefty 60% -70% of its electricity comes from renewable sources, Portugal still relies heavily on imported fossil fuels to meet overall energy needs.

https://electrek.co/2021/11/23/portugal ... oal-plant/
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moinsdewatt
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Re: The world's largest source of primary energy, coal




by moinsdewatt » 28/11/21, 12:26

Almost all the coal to be mined in 2022 in the USA has already found a taker:

US coal miners are 'sold out' for 2022

Bloomberg News | October 29, 2021

Almost every lump of coal that US miners will dig out of the ground next year has already been sold, as surging natural gas prices prompt utilities to burn more of the dirtiest fossil fuel.


Peabody Energy Corp., the top American supplier, has contracts for more than 90% of its coal from the Powder River Basin region next year and all of the power-plant fuel from its other US mines. And Arch Resources Inc., the No. 2 producer, has lined up deals with utilities for all of its 2022 output from the basin at an average price that's 20% higher than current spot prices.

Demand for electricity is surging as the global economy recovers from the pandemic and winter approaches, driving natural gas prices to record highs. Even with coal miners boosting output next year, power producers are signing multi-year contracts for every ton they can get. As global leaders converge in Glasgow next week for a key United Nations climate conference, these lengthy supply deals are further evidence that the transition to clean energy is going to take some time.

“It's pretty much sold out,” Peabody Chief Executive Officer Jim Grech said Thursday during a conference call. “We only have a small portion left to be sold for 2022 and for 2023.”

Arch's thermal coal output for 2022 is “fully committed,” CEO Paul Lang said Tuesday, with an average price for Powder River Basin output of $ 16 a ton. That's well above the $ 13.25 spot price last week, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Only a small amount of export tons remains to be sold for the second half of next year. While the company is transitioning to focus on coal for making steel, its thermal mines are helping boost cash flow and the company reinstated the dividend that was suspended last year.

Alliance Resource Partners LP, a coal miner that's on track to ship about 32 million tons this year, has already locked in deals for 30 million tons next year and almost 16 million tons in 2023.

“Our challenge in America is most producers are all sold out,” CEO Joe Craft said during a call Monday.


https://www.mining.com/web/us-coal-mine ... -for-2022/
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moinsdewatt
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Re: The world's largest source of primary energy, coal




by moinsdewatt » 18/12/21, 10:30

Nearly 8 billion tonnes of coal annually in the years to come:

Image

Coal: "climate enemy n ° 1" is still doing well (and even better) in 2021
published on December 17, 2021

https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org ... 021-211217
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