Brave new world for King Coal as it tries to clean up its act

Soaring gas prices signal a return to the old fuel
· Fear that UK will rely too heavily on foreign imports

Terry Macalister
Tuesday February 21, 2006
The Guardian


The government yesterday gave its clearest signal yet that King Coal is ready for a comeback as it emphasised that clean technology could help the fuel play a new role in future energy needs.
Alan Johnson, the trade and industry secretary, said the UK should make sure its "eggs aren't in one basket," both in terms of power sources and their countries of origin.

"If a new, cleaner coal generation is viable, then I think it could have an important part to play in making sure we have diverse generation in the future.Coal is easy to store and it comes from a variety of well-established sources around the world," he said.


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Last week, Malcolm Wicks, the energy minister, was similarly upbeat about coal, telling a conference in London that "we still have substantial coal reserves and there are arguments for maintaining production from them".
No new coal-fired power stations have been built in 30 years, but Germany's E.ON has recently talked of the possibility of building a plant on the south coast.

Coal still provides around 33% of the power needed in Britain for generating electricity, but this winter that figure soared to 50% as generating companies switched away from gas, as its cost soared.

Growing interest in coal comes at a critical time. The government has launched an energy review, and there is a growing realisation that without coal or nuclear, Britain could be reliant on foreign gas imports from volatile places such as Russia.

Supporters say coal, which has helped power the UK since the industrial revolution, has advantages over renewables such as wind because it can be burned all the time and is not dependent on the weather.

But supporters and critics are both aware that coal is dirty, unlike wind or solar. Not only does coal produce greenhouse gases, but it also emits sulphur and nitrogen, at a time when stricter pollution controls are being introduced all over Europe to prevent acid rain. This makes coal less attractive, and the presumption is that by 2020, coal will provide only 16% of UK electricity, at a time when the current batch of nuclear power stations are also coming to the end of their natural lives.

Some coal-fired power stations in the UK have already decided to invest in "scrubbing" devices to reduce noxious gases, but to make an impact on CO2 output, stronger measures are needed.

These "clean coal" measures range from a new generation of more efficient coal-fired power stations, to plants that can burn a mix of coal plus biomass crops, or the most unproven, but potentially rewarding - carbon dioxide capture and permanent underground storage.

Mitsui Babcock, a designer and engineer of new "clean coal" plants, has already seen its products built and run in locations from Germany to China. These power stations are not greenhouse gas-free, but they emit far less CO2 and, a company spokeswoman said there is only one reason for them not being adopted in Britain: cost.

"It really needs government to provide incentives to invest in coal-fired plant. They could be financial incentives or legislative action," she added.

"We don't have all the answers, but clearly one way would be to provide something similar to the Renewable Obligation which encourages electricity providers to use alternative power, such as wind," she added.

The government appears interested, but the key is whether it will pay for it. Mitsui Babcock believes it would cost £10bn to convert all coal-fired stations to ultra-efficient plants capable of co-firing, coal and biomass. To go the whole way with carbon capture and storage would cost a further £10bn, it estimates.

Last summer, Tony Blair, the prime minister, used his presidency of the European Union to announce a project to demonstrate a near-zero emissions coal fired plant technology in China and Europe by 2015.

His government has already set aside £35m for local research into clean coal and the climate change programme review - due to be published at the end of next month - is also looking at the scope for further public money to go into this.

But while politicians and consultants fret about how to find the cleanest solutions, the British coal industry continues to decline with two collieries, Rossington in Yorkshire and Harworth in Nottinghamshire, set to close.

The main local provider, UK Coal, ran up first-half losses of £30.5m and is struggling to make many of its mines pay despite a big increase in the global price of coal. The collieries are hobbled by the depths of the reserves underground and opposition to new surface mines from local residents. The current switch from gas to coal by local power stations has mainly benefited mines in South Africa, Australia and Russia. The only new investment going into British coal handling is at ports. While UK Coal recently closed Selby, once the biggest coal complex in Europe, in 2004, Associated British Ports is spending £65m - its biggest single investment ever - at Immingham about 50 miles away.

Two massive cranes, each with giant grabs of 32 tonnes' capacity, have just been installed enabling them to handle 3,000 tonnes of coal an hour. Ironically, the ports in this east coast area were built in the 1900s to export black gold from the newly opened Yorkshire coalfields.

Backstory

Britain once led the world in "clean coal technology", designed to minimise pollution. In the 1960s the government looked at clean coal, with an experimental facility opening at Grimethorpe colliery, Barnsley, in 1975. The plant was funded by more than 20 countries but was closed after the 1984-85 miners' strike and subsequent privatisation of the industry by the Thatcher government. At the start of the strike there were 170 working pits; now there are fewer than 10.





Useful links
UK Coal
Department of trade and industry: coal
National coal mining museum
Coal resources in the public records office
Coal mining history resource centre
Mining deaths and injuries in Great Britain