COALspot.com: “Coal is not the enemy to fight and electricity production from coal has an environmental impact in its lifecycle similar to natural gas, taking into account the efficient curb-emissions systems developed in recent years” declared Andrea Clavarino, President of the Italian coal industry association Assocarboni, at its annual congress, entitled “Italian power system: proposals for a sustainable energy transition after the COP21” that took place on 8 April in Rome.
“Assocarboni thus proposes to use more coal – through the implementation of the best combustion technologies – and renewables, and less gas, which is expensive and has serious supply security issues, following what developed and emerging countries like South Korea, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, USA and Vietnam are already doing. Nowadays, coal guarantees low costs and energy security, as reserves are equally distributed across the world, and therefore is, together with renewables, the best combustible to support economic and industrial development across the world, including Italy” concluded Andrea Clavarino.
According to Assocarboni seaborne coal trade in 2015 decreased by 2.3%, from 1.212 to 1.184 billion tonnes, after ten years at 5% annual growth rate.
Coal maintains the leadership as the global leader in the production of electricity, accounting for 40% of overall production, followed by nuclear power and natural gas with a quota of 20% and 17% respectively, and its generation capacity is expected to grow from the current 1,805 GW to 2,843 GW in 2040, according to International Energy Agency’s (IEA) forecasts, Assocarboni’s press release says.
The demand for coal according to Assocarboni will grow to 5.814 billion tonnes of coal equivalent, with a 0.8% average annual growth rate. Half of the growth will come from India (149 MTCE).
The Italy’s final figures for 2015 are stable compared to 2014. Italy imported 16 million tonnes of steam coal and 3,5 million tonnes of both coking coal and PCI in 2015, says Assocarboni. However, Fossil fuels, especially natural gas, resumed growing, while renewable energy decreased by 5.9%, driven by a reduction in hydroelectric production back to average levels after last year’s record high and lower precipitations in 2015. Oil confirmed as the first energy source with 36%, followed by natural gas with 33.3% and renewables with 17.5% (30% of which from hydroelectric).
Italian manufacturing companies pay the electricity 50% more than the European average, as the country depends on imported natural gas from Russia and Algeria and subsidised renewable energies, which together account for over 70% of the national electricity mix, says Assocarboni. Whilst the European energy mix is still based on coal and nuclear, the share of coal in the Italian electricity mix is stable at 13%, the lowest percentage compared to the European average (28%).
According to Italian coal industry association (Assocarboni), Italy’s largest coal operators are at the forefront of technological innovation within the sector. Compared to the most obsolete and inefficient technologies used in the past, the modern coal power plants in Italy are environmentally-friendly, as they emit between 25 and 33% percent less CO2, and highly efficient, with an average 40% efficiency rate and peaks of 46% in Torrevaldaliga Nord, which is only reached in Japan and Denmark in the world.
According to European Power Plant Suppliers Association’s (EPPSA) forecasts, high efficiency technologies would eliminate 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, 2.5 times the emissions reduction already achieved by renewable energies (excluding hydroelectric), if they were to be introduced in emerging markets, where the average efficiency rate is 33%, and would cost approximately 120 billion dollars to implement.
A number of scientific studies by preeminent research centres do not justify using gases against climate change, as the findings demonstrated that, considering the entire fossil fuels lifecycle, the difference in CO2 emissions with gas is significantly reduced, and even equalise when pre- and post-combustion emissions are included, because of the various gases (e.g. H2S, CO2, N2O, etc.) not accounted for released in the atmosphere from methane deposits.
In particular, several international studies (e.g. Robert Howarth, Cornell University; Frank Clemente, Penn University; Nick Cowern, Newcastle University) have widely demonstrated that shale gas and fracking have serious environmental consequences. Academic researches showed that shale gas generates, especially in its extraction, higher CO2 levels than coal and lawmakers must keep these findings in consideration in the definition of a country’s energy policies, says Assocarboni.
According to Assocarboni’s latest data, in 2015 Australia remained the world’s leading coal exporter with 387 million tonnes, followed by Indonesia with 255 million tonnes.
Russian coal exports increased by 4% from 2014 reaching 153 million tonnes, while Colombian and South African steaming coal’s reached 80.5 million tonnes (+7.3%) and 75.6 million tonnes (1.5%) respectively.
India overtook China in 2015 and became the world’s largest coal importer, with 210 million tonnes inbound, against China’s 180 million tonnes.
Total coal imports grew in Japan (190.6 million tonnes, +1.3%), South Korea (93.7 million tonnes, +1%) and Turkey (34 million, +14%), while Vietnam’s coal imports more than doubled from 3.09 million to 6.97 million tonnes (+125%).
The Eurozone’s total coal imports for 2015 closed at 191 million tonnes.
About ASSOCARBONI
ASSOCARBONI is a non-profit organisation founded in 1897, which represents national and international companies engaged in solid fuels. Its head office is in Rome and it has representative offices in London and Brussels. On a national level, Assocarboni is member of Confindustria Energia and sits in the Board of Directors of the Fuel Experimental Station, a fuel research institute within the Ministry of Economic Development.
On an international level, Assocarboni is member of CIAB (Coal Industry Advisory Board) – a section of the International Energy Agency (IEA) which brings together more than 40 companies (both energy producing and electric generation companies) from 14 different countries - of WCA (World Coal Association) in London and of the “Working Party on Coal” of the ECEUN Energy Committee in Geneva.
