Blow for US coal plants

In a move that signals the start of the clean energy in the US, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) has ruled that EPA had no valid reason for refusing to limit from new coal-fired power plants the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. The decision means that all new and proposed coal plants nationwide must go back and address their carbon dioxide emissions.

The Sierra Club went before the Environmental Appeals Board in May of 2008 to request that the air permit for Deseret Power Electric Cooperative’s proposed waste coal-fired power plant be overturned because it failed to require any controls on carbon dioxide pollution. Deseret Power’s 110 MW Bonanza plant would have emitted 3.37 million tons of carbon dioxide each year.

What this means is that 30 permits for new coal-fired power plants in the seven state directly regulated by the EPA's permitting process, plus projects on all Indian Reservations will immediately die because of this ruling.

The U.S. produces about 25 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. Burning coal contributes 40 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions. Coal is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel. According to the United Nations Environment Program, coal emits around 1.7 times as much carbon per unit of energy when burned as does natural gas and 1.25 times as much as oil.

But for those still addicted to coal for various reasons, to the rescue has come the mantra of ‘clean coal’. But this is just commercial propaganda, going by an article in The Guardian. It says: Sure you can clean it up a bit – though the toxins you've taken out of the ground have to go somewhere. But clean coal? Just say no.

The most authoritative study, The Future of Coal, published last year by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while advocating the technology as a way out of the imbroglio, concluded that the first commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant wouldn't come on stream until 2030 at the earliest. The technology is still not perfected and also is expensive.

Coal will remain the dominant energy source in India in coming decades. Priority naturally is to extend electricity access to the 400 million without this power. This was cited by the World Bank when it sanctioned the $450 million loan for the Tata Mundra mega power project early this year. The Bank Group is working to balance these energy needs with concerns about climate change.

The IFC noted that it would support only highly efficient coal-fired projects with a relatively lower carbon footprint than existing coal plants.

When it comes to coal consumption, no one can beat China. World coal consumption reached a record 3,090 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2006, an increase of 4.5 percent over 2005. China led world coal use with 39 percent of the total. The United States followed with 18 percent. The European Union and India accounted for 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

According to data, five new coal-fired generators with a combined capacity of 600 megawatts came online in the United States in 2006, while India added 930 megawatts of capacity. In startling contrast, China brought online about as much coal power capacity each week as the United States and India together did over the entire year, adding an unprecedented 90 gigawatts in 2006.

So what is the solution to balance energy and climate?