Energy Sources

Coal

Facts

Coal plants are up to 50% cheaper to build than nuclear plants. Nuclear plants average about $5200/kw in construction costs whereas coal plants cost about $2800/kw. Coal facilities require only coal supplies and a power infrastructure to provide electricity to cities. CO2 sequestration—a process by which CO2 is recaptured and stored underground—reduces a coal plant’s environmental impact. The problems with sequestration include added cost as well as uncertainty about how long storage facilities can hold CO2.

Source: "Atomic Balm," New York Times Magazine, July 16, 2006; World Nuclear Association

Source: ”Update of the MIT 2003 Future of Nuclear Power Study”, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; available: web.mit.edu/nuclearpower/pdf/nuclearpower-update2009.pdf

Conventional coal combustion is a major contributor to global warming. In 2008, U.S. coal-fired plants produced 2.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide, second only to China, and representing over 37% of overall U.S. carbon emissions.

Source: “World Energy Outlook 2010.” International Energy Agency

In addition to CO2, the burning of coal for power generation is a source of numerous other pollutants including sulfur dioxide that reacts with oxygen and water to produce acid rain, which harms forests, bodies of water and wildlife.

Source: Environment Canada

Overview

Between 1980 and 2008, world coal consumption grew by over three-quarters. China’s coal consumption rose threefold. As of early 2008 two new coal-fired electricity plants opened every week in China. Coal provides 80% of China’s electricity, and its role is not likely to diminish soon. Coal is expected to provide 74% of China’s electricity in 2035.

Source: “Energy for Tomorrow: Repowering the Planet”; National Geographic; Summer 2009

Source: EIA http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=1&pid=1&aid=2&cid=regions&syid=1980&eyid=2008&unit=TST

One ton of coal will provide the average U.S. home with electricity for two years. There are an estimated 264 billion tons of coal reserves in the U.S., while the U.S. currently consumes just over one billion tons of coal per year. Total economically recoverable reserves of coal worldwide are estimated at about 930 billion tons.

Source: “Energy for Tomorrow: Repowering the Planet”; National Geographic; Summer 2009

Source: EIA (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/IEDIndex3.cfm?tid=1&pid=7&aid=6)

By 2015, total world coal consumption is projected to increase by 5%. A typical coal plant produces annual emissions equivalent to that of approximately 750,000 cars.

Source: “International Energy Outlook 2010,” Energy Information Administration

Integrated gasification combined cycle, or IGCC, converts coal into gas before running it through a combined cycle power plant to produce electricity. It’s a process where contaminants are filtered away and carbon is captured and stored underground more easily than from conventional coal. This technology could significantly reduce emissions, but it raises the price of the electricity produced. The state-of-the-art IGCC plants on average cost almost 2 times more than standard pulverized coal plants. However, if carbon capture and sequestration technologies are implemented, IGCC plants would become slightly cheaper than pulverized coal plants.

U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory

The primary risk associated with the geologic storage of carbon dioxide—a promising technology that is usually called carbon sequestration and storage—is ensuring the gas remains in the repository for thousands of years.

Source: "Fueling the Future- Better Ways to Use America’s Fuel Options," Consumer Energy Council of America, May 2006

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is a process by which coal is converted into product gas that can be utilized for power production or as chemical feedstock. UCG has the potential to allow for more of the world’s coal resources to be classified as recoverable. The method has been carried out only on a small scale throughout the past 50 years. However, recent technological developments in directional drilling and computer modeling have led to larger-scale UCG pilot projects in Australia, Canada, China and South Africa. If the projects are found to be economically feasible, then they are likely to be replicated in other countries with coal resources, including India, Poland, Russia, the UK and the U.S..

Source: “World Energy Outlook 2010.” International Energy Agency

More than 80% of the world’s recoverable coal reserves are located in just six countries: the US (29%), Russia (19%), China (14%), Australia (9%) India (7%) and South Africa (6%). These countries are projected to increase their production of coal by an average of 50% between now and 2030.

Source: “Survey of Energy Resources 2007,” World Energy Council

Source: EIU Calculation from Data in “International Energy Outlook 2009”, Energy Information Administration

Annual per capita carbon emissions total nearly 20 tons in the U.S., but are expected to decline to 13 tons per capita by 2030. Currently, per capita emissions in China and India are 4.9 tons and one ton, respectively. As those countries’ economies grow, their per capita emissions will rise significantly: by 2030 China is forecast to have emissions of 8.1 tons per capita, while India is projected to have emissions of 2.2 tons per capita.

Source: “World Energy Outlook 2010.” International Energy Agency

Conventional coal combustion is a major contributor to global warming. According to the 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, climate change could impose costs of 5%-7% of global economic output each year. However, recent studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have shown that the planet is warming faster than previously expected and that costs could be much higher. Although emissions mitigation would also impose high costs and require behavioral changes from much of society, most studies demonstrate that the cost of mitigation would be far lower than the costs of adapting to a changing climate.

Source: “A Small price for a large benefit.” NY Times, Feb. 20, 2010: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/business/economy/21view.html

If China expands its coal production in Xinjiang province it would significantly reduce the price of coal globally, and could affect other country’s coal production decisions. The province has 2.2 trillion metric tons of coal reserves, equivalent to 40% of the country’s total coal resources.

Source: “World Energy Outlook 2010.” International Energy Agency

While coal facilities rarely have accidents that endanger adjacent communities, coal mining, especially in shaft mines, is a dangerous occupation. Miners can perish in mine collapses or as the result of explosions of methane or coal dust. In 2009, 2,631 coal miners died as a result of accidents in China, equivalent to more than seven miners per day. This figure is down from a 2002 high of nearly 20 deaths per day.

Source: “China reports fewer coal mine deaths in 2009.” (http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTOE61D00V20100214)

Coal: Opportunities

Coal is one of the least expensive sources of power

Coal is inexpensive to produce and abundant, and much of it is located in Australia, China, India, Russia, Southern Africa and the US.

Corporations look to limit carbon emissions.

A global consortium of companies is developing new technologies to limit carbon emissions from future coal plants at lower costs.

Coal: Challenges

Most new coal plants are not using carbon capture technology

Although companies are starting to build coal plants that can capture and store their carbon emissions, the majority of new generators do not. Today’s carbon capture technology increases the cost of electricity for a new pulverized coal plant by 75% and increases the cost of electricity at a new advanced gasification plant by 35%.

Source: “What are the costs and benefits of Carbon Capture and Sequestration?” U.S. Department of Energy: www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/carbon_seq/FAQs/benefits.html

Emissions from developing countries expected to grow.

Led by China, developing countries currently account for two-thirds of global coal consumption and will account for over 80% of global consumption by 2035. China alone accounted for more than 75% of the growth in consumption of coal over the last decade, and is expected to account for around half of total global consumption by 2035. Meanwhile, India is expected to double its consumption of coal between 2008 and 2035.

Source: “World Energy Outlook 2010.” International Energy Agency