Coal is still KING in Asia

[Juliar]

Coal is still very big in Asia as it is cheap.

If a really successful storage system could be invented then renewables might have a hope of competing. Hydrogen storage ?



Future tense: Fastest-growing market Asia rethinks coal’s prospects
Reuters Melanie Burton and Fransiska Nangoy PUBLISHED THU, JUL 4 201912:34 AM EDT

* Demand growth in SE Asia, India to outstrip China decline

* Indonesia to boost coal demand by 55 pct by 2023

* Renewables can’t compete on cost in SE Asia -analyst




* Interactive chart on coal demand: https://tmsnrt.rs/2RtEELR

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, July 4 (Reuters) - After riding China’s demand train for nearly two decades, Asia’s coal industry is looking to a future of smaller markets and slimmer pickings, as buying declines in the world’s second-biggest economy and climate change concerns blunt demand.

By far the biggest user of coal-fired power, China is buying less thermal coal from global markets, said delegates to Asia’s premier coal conference last month in Bali, both as renewables gain market share and as it digs up more of its own supply.

A backlash against coal is also growing in the West. Last week, investors managing nearly half the world’s invested capital demanded ahead of a Group of 20 summit in Tokyo that governments take urgent action on climate change.

Delegates to Coaltrans in Bali, Indonesia, however, said that while coal’s glory days are done, reports of its imminent demise have been greatly exaggerated.

“Coal will continue to provide low-cost energy. We are looking at increasing demand in Southeast Asia, so we are still positive,” said Hendri Tan, marketing director at PT Adaro Indonesia, a unit of PT Adaro Energy, Indonesia’s second-biggest coal producer.

Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal, used primarily for power generation, shipping out 429 million tonnes last year and accounting for 43% of the 1 billion-tonne-a-year seaborne market, according to Australian government data. Around 124 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power capacity is under development in Southeast and South Asia, both key markets for Indonesia, and that is expected to offset declining demand from China, said the chairman of Indonesia Coal Mining Association, Pandu Sjahrir.

Indonesia itself is expected to add some 50 million tonnes a year of coal-fired power demand by 2023, he said, a rise of 55% that would make it one of Asia’s biggest consumers.

As China takes less, economies like India, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines are also expected to pick up the slack, delegates said.

Between 2014 and 2018, China’s coal demand fell by 2.4%, while India’s swelled by 16.7%, according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy report this year. Over the same period, Vietnam’s coal use grew by 65% and Indonesia’s by 36%, helping to offset falls in the United States, Japan and Germany as well.

Indonesia shot to prominence as a coal producer last decade as it dug out and shipped the fuel to meet power demand from China, eventually outstripping then leader Australia.

As China’s manufacturing might grew, so too did its hunger for electricity, turning it into a net thermal coal importer around 2004. That was a bonanza for miners and helped establish Coaltrans in Bali as the industry’s main event in Asia.

During the boom years, companies would battle to outdo each other at Coaltrans with lavish beach parties. One Uzbekistan company flew in belly dancers to entertain potential customers drinking free-flow vodka and eating caviar, delegates said.

“People were throwing money at everything,” said SMG Consultants’ Alistair MacDonald, who has attended Coaltrans since 2000. But times have changed, he said.

“The bankers aren’t here. A lot of the services like insurers aren’t here any more,” he said. “It’s a lot more domestic (Indonesian) players, and they want to be perceived as energy companies, not as coal companies.”

Staring at prospects of tougher conditions ahead, Indonesia’s large thermal coal miners are diversifying into other geographies and other industries, Sacha Winzenried, a partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, told Reuters.

“They are looking into renewables, other infrastructure, supply chain support such as water, utilities, shipping and logistics,” Winzenried said.

Indonesia’s Adaro Energy bought an Australian coal mine from Rio Tinto last year. And Indonesian state coal miner Bukit Asam is targeting commercial operation of four coal processing plants in South Sumatra that would extract gas from, as well as burn, coal.

FINANCING DRIES UP

Delegates also noted the difficulty of getting financing for their businesses, working capital and further investments, and some were pessimistic on the coal industry’s longevity.

One mining engineer in his fifties, who had spent most of his career in coal at a major miner and also had an MBA, saw his career options as limited.

“I’ve spent twenty years in coal. Where can I go next?” he said. “I would not recommend any young people join this industry.”

Still, renewables are not expected to make the same inroads in emerging Asian economies as in developed nations, because Asian governments are working to provide cheap baseload power from coal, and renewables can’t compete on scale or price, said an industry analyst, declining to be named due to his listed company’s policy.

“Less coal will mean a less polluted world,” he said. “But if you don’t want (coal) to exist, then you have to come up with a realistic alternative.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/04/reuters ... pects.html

[BigP]

Coal, one of the most important primary fossil fuels, a solid carbon-rich material that is usually brown or black and most often occurs in stratified sedimentary deposits.

bituminous coal
bituminous coal
Bituminous coal.
Mineral Information Institute
Coal is defined as having more than 50 percent by weight (or 70 percent by volume) carbonaceous matter produced by the compaction and hardening of altered plant remains—namely, peat deposits. Different varieties of coal arise because of differences in the kinds of plant material (coal type), degree of coalification (coal rank), and range of impurities (coal grade). Although most coals occur in stratified sedimentary deposits, the deposits may later be subjected to elevated temperatures and pressures caused by igneous intrusions or deformation during orogenesis (i.e., processes of mountain building), resulting in the development of anthracite and even graphite. Although the concentration of carbon in Earth’s crust does not exceed 0.1 percent by weight, it is indispensable to life and constitutes humankind’s main source of energy.

Location of the most-important coal occurrences on Earth.
Location of the most-important coal occurrences on Earth.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
This article considers the geological origins, structure, and properties of coal, its usage throughout human history, and current world distribution. For a discussion of the coal-extraction process, see the article coal mining. For a more complete treatment of the processes involved in coal combustion, see the article coal utilization.

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History Of The Use Of Coal
In ancient times
The discovery of the use of fire helped to distinguish humans from other animals. Early fuels were primarily wood (and charcoal derived from it), straw, and dried dung. References to the early uses of coal are meagre. Aristotle referred to “bodies which have more of earth than of smoke” and called them “coal-like substances.” (It should be noted that biblical references to coal are to charcoal rather than to the rock coal.) Coal was used commercially by the Chinese long before it was used in Europe. Although no authentic record is available, coal from the Fushun mine in northeastern China may have been employed to smelt copper as early as 1000 BCE. Stones used as fuel were said to have been produced in China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE).

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In Europe
Coal cinders found among Roman ruins in England suggest that the Romans were familiar with coal use before 400 CE. The first documented proof that coal was mined in Europe was provided by the monk Reinier of Liège, who wrote (about 1200) of black earth very similar to charcoal used by metalworkers. Many references to coal mining in England and Scotland and on the European continent began to appear in the writings of the 13th century. Coal was, however, used only on a limited scale until the early 18th century, when Abraham Darby of England and others developed methods of using in blast furnaces and forges coke made from coal. Successive metallurgical and engineering developments—most notably the invention of the coal-burning steam engine by James Watt—engendered an almost insatiable demand for coal.


In the New World
Up to the time of the American Revolution, most coal used in the American colonies came from England or Nova Scotia. Wartime shortages and the needs of the munitions manufacturers, however, spurred small American coal-mining operations such as those in Virginia on the James River near Richmond. By the early 1830s mining companies had emerged along the Ohio, Illinois, and Mississippi rivers and in the Appalachian region. As in European countries, the introduction of the steam locomotive gave the American coal industry a tremendous impetus. Continued expansion of industrial activity in the United States and in Europe further promoted the use of coal.

Modern Utilization
Coal as an energy source
Coal is an abundant natural resource that can be used as a source of energy, as a chemical source from which numerous synthetic compounds (e.g., dyes, oils, waxes, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides) can be derived, and in the production of coke for metallurgical processes. Coal is a major source of energy in the production of electrical power using steam generation. In addition, gasification and liquefaction of coal produce gaseous and liquid fuels that can be easily transported (e.g., by pipeline) and conveniently stored in tanks. After the tremendous rise in coal use in the early 2000s, which was primarily driven by the growth of China’s economy, coal use worldwide peaked in 2012. Since then coal use has experienced a steady decline, offset largely by increases in natural gas use.

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Conversion
In general, coal can be considered a hydrogen-deficient hydrocarbon with a hydrogen-to-carbon ratio near 0.8, as compared with a liquid hydrocarbons ratio near 2 (for propane, ethane, butane, and other forms of natural gas) and a gaseous hydrocarbons ratio near 4 (for gasoline). For this reason, any process used to convert coal to alternative fuels must add hydrogen (either directly or in the form of water).

Gasification refers to the conversion of coal to a mixture of gases, including carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane, and other hydrocarbons, depending on the conditions involved. Gasification may be accomplished either in situ or in processing plants. In situ gasification is accomplished by controlled, incomplete burning of a coal bed underground while adding air and steam. The gases are withdrawn and may be burned to produce heat or generate electricity, or they may be used as synthesis gas in indirect liquefaction or the production of chemicals.

Coal liquefaction—that is, any process of turning coal into liquid products resembling crude oil—may be either direct or indirect (i.e., by using the gaseous products obtained by breaking down the chemical structure of coal). Four general methods are used for liquefaction: (1) pyrolysis and hydrocarbonization (coal is heated in the absence of air or in a stream of hydrogen), (2) solvent extraction (coal hydrocarbons are selectively dissolved and hydrogen is added to produce the desired liquids), (3) catalytic liquefaction (hydrogenation takes place in the presence of a catalyst—for example, zinc chloride), and (4) indirect liquefaction (carbon monoxide and hydrogen are combined in the presence of a catalyst).


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Coal
QUICK FACTS
KEY PEOPLE
E.F. Schumacher
Friedrich Flick
Sir Ian MacGregor
William Stanley Jevons
RELATED TOPICS
Coal mining
Fossil fuel
Bituminous coal
Subbituminous coal
Anthracite
Lignite
Sapropelic coal
Jet
Maceral
Brown coal


Problems associated with the use of coal
Hazards of mining and preparation
Coal is abundant. Assuming that current rates of usage and production do not change, estimates of reserves indicate that enough coal remains to last more than 200 years. There are, however, a variety of problems associated with the use of coal.

Mining operations are hazardous. Each year hundreds of coal miners lose their lives or are seriously injured. Major mine hazards include roof falls, rock bursts, and fires and explosions. The latter result when flammable gases (such as methane) trapped in the coal are released during mining operations and accidentally are ignited. Methane may be extracted from coal beds prior to mining through the process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), which involves high-pressure injection of fluids underground in order to open fissures in rock that would allow trapped gas or crude oil to escape into pipes that would bring the material to the surface. Methane extraction was expected to lead to safer mines and provide a source of natural gas that had long been wastedo. However, enthusiasm for this technology has been tempered with the knowledge that fracking has also been associated with groundwater contamination. In addition, miners working belowground often inhale coal dust over extended periods of time, which can result in serious health problems—for example, black lung.

Coal mines and coal-preparation plants have caused much environmental damage. Surface areas exposed during mining, as well as coal and rock waste (which were often dumped indiscriminately), weather rapidly, producing abundant sediment and soluble chemical products such as sulfuric acid and iron sulfates. Nearby streams became clogged with sediment, iron oxides stained rocks, and “acid mine drainage” caused marked reductions in the numbers of plants and animals living in the vicinity. Potentially toxic elements, leached from the exposed coal and adjacent rocks, were released into the environment. Since the 1970s, stricter laws have significantly reduced the environmental damage caused by coal mining in developed countries, though more-severe damage continues to occur in many developing countries.


Hazards of utilization
Coal utilization can cause problems. During the incomplete burning or conversion of coal, many compounds are produced, some of which are carcinogenic. The burning of coal also produces sulfur and nitrogen oxides that react with atmospheric moisture to produce sulfuric and nitric acids—so-called acid rain. In addition, it produces particulate matter (fly ash) that can be transported by winds for many hundreds of kilometres and solids (bottom ash and slag) that must be disposed of. Trace elements originally present in the coal may escape as volatiles (e.g., chlorine and mercury) or be concentrated in the ash (e.g., arsenic and barium). Some of these pollutants can be trapped by using such devices as electrostatic precipitators, baghouses, and scrubbers. Current research on alternative means for combustion (e.g., fluidized bed combustion, magnetohydrodynamics, and low nitrogen dioxide burners) is expected to provide efficient and environmentally attractive methods for extracting energy from coal. Regardless of the means used for combustion, acceptable ways of disposing of the waste products have to be found.

The burning of all fossil fuels (oil and natural gas included) releases large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. The CO2 molecules allow the shorter-wavelength rays from the Sun to enter the atmosphere and strike Earth’s surface, but they do not allow much of the long-wave radiation reradiated from the surface to escape into space. The CO2 absorbs this upward-propagating infrared radiation and reemits a portion of it downward, causing the lower atmosphere to remain warmer than it would otherwise be. Whereas the greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring process, its enhancement due to increased release of greenhouse gases (CO2 and other gases, such as methane and ozone) is called global warming. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is substantial evidence that higher concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases have increased the mean temperature of Earth since 1950. This increase is probably the cause of noticeable reductions in snow cover and sea ice extent in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, a worldwide increase in sea level and a decrease in mountain glacier extent have been documented. Technologies being considered to reduce carbon dioxide levels include biological fixation, cryogenic recovery, disposal in the oceans and aquifers, and conversion to methanol.


Coal Types And Ranks
Coals may be classified in several ways. One mode of classification is by coal type; such types have some genetic implications because they are based on the organic materials present and the coalification processes that produced the coal. The most useful and widely applied coal-classification schemes are those based on the degree to which coals have undergone coalification. Such varying degrees of coalification are generally called coal ranks (or classes). In addition to the scientific value of classification schemes of this kind, the determination of rank has a number of practical applications. Many coal properties are in part determined by rank, including the amount of heat produced during combustion, the amount of gaseous products released upon heating, and the suitability of the coals for liquefaction or for producing coke.


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MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC
Asia: Coal
North America: Coal deposits
Europe: Coal
Sedimentary rock: Coal


Coal types
Macerals
Coals contain both organic and inorganic phases. The latter consist either of minerals such as quartz and clays that may have been brought in by flowing water (or wind activity) or of minerals such as pyrite and marcasite that formed in place (authigenic). Some formed in living plant tissues, and others formed later during peat formation or coalification. Some pyrite (and marcasite) is present in micrometre-sized spheroids called framboids (named for their raspberry-like shape) that formed quite early. Framboids are very difficult to remove by conventional coal-cleaning processes.

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Asia: Coal
Asia has enormous reserves of coal, amounting to nearly three-fifths of the world’s total, but they are unevenly distributed. The largest…
By analogy to the term mineral, British botanist Marie C. Stopes proposed in 1935 the term maceral to describe organic constituents present in coals. The word is derived from the Latin macerare, meaning “to macerate.” (Mineral names often end in -ite. The corresponding ending for macerals is -inite.) Maceral nomenclature has been applied differently by some European coal petrologists who studied polished blocks of coal using reflected-light microscopy (their terminology is based on morphology, botanical affinity, and mode of occurrence) and by some North American petrologists who studied very thin slices (thin sections) of coal using transmitted-light microscopy. Various nomenclature systems have been used.

Three major maceral groups are generally recognized: vitrinite, liptinite (formerly called exinite), and inertinite. The vitrinite group is the most abundant, constituting as much as 50 to 90 percent of many North American coals. Vitrinites are derived primarily from cell walls and woody tissues. They show a wide range of reflectance values (how the coal reflects light; discussed below), but in individual samples these values tend to be intermediate compared with those of the other maceral groups. Several varieties are recognized—e.g., telinite (the brighter parts of vitrinite that make up cell walls) and collinite (clear vitrinite that occupies the spaces between cell walls).


The liptinite group makes up 5 to 15 percent of many coals. Liptinites are derived from waxy or resinous plant parts, such as cuticles, spores, and wound resins. Their reflectance values are usually the lowest in an individual sample. Several varieties are recognized, including sporinite (spores are typically preserved as flattened spheroids), cutinite (part of cross sections of leaves, often with crenulated surfaces), and resinite (ovoid and sometimes translucent masses of resin). The liptinites may fluoresce (i.e., luminesce because of absorption of radiation) under ultraviolet light, but with increasing rank their optical properties approach those of the vitrinites, and the two groups become indistinguishable.

The inertinite group makes up 5 to 40 percent of most coals. Their reflectance values are usually the highest in a given sample. The most common inertinite maceral is fusinite, which has a charcoal-like appearance with obvious cell texture. The cells may be either empty or filled with mineral matter, and the cell walls may have been crushed during compaction (bogen texture). Inertinites are derived from strongly altered or degraded plant material that is thought to have been produced during the formation of peat; in particular, charcoal produced by a fire in a peat swamp is preserved as fusinite.


Coal rock types
Coals may be classified on the basis of their macroscopic appearance (generally referred to as coal rock type, lithotype, or kohlentype). Four main types are recognized:

Vitrain, which is characterized by a brilliant black lustre and composed primarily of the maceral group vitrinite, which is derived from the woody tissue of large plants. Vitrain is brittle and tends to break into angular fragments; however, thick vitrain layers show conchoidal fractures (that is, curving fractures that resemble the interior of a seashell) when broken. Vitrain occurs in narrow, sometimes markedly uniform, bright bands that are about 3 to 10 mm (about 0.1 to 0.4 inch) thick. Vitrain probably formed under somewhat drier surface conditions than did the lithotypes clarain and durain. On burial, stagnant groundwater prevented the complete decomposition of the woody plant tissues.
Clarain, which has an appearance between those of vitrain and durain and is characterized by alternating bright and dull black laminae (thin layers, each commonly less than 1 mm thick). The brightest layers are composed chiefly of the maceral vitrinite and the duller layers of the other maceral groups, liptinite and inertinite. Clarain exhibits a silky lustre less brilliant than that of vitrain. It seems to have originated under conditions that alternated between those in which durain and vitrain formed.
Durain, which is characterized by a hard granular texture and composed of the maceral groups liptinite and inertinite as well as relatively large amounts of inorganic minerals. Durain occurs in layers more than 3 to 10 mm (about 0.1 to 0.4 inch) thick, although layers more than 10 cm (about 4 inches) thick have been recognized. Durains are usually dull black to dark gray in colour. Durain is thought to have formed in peat deposits below water level, where only liptinite and inertinite components resisted decomposition and where inorganic minerals accumulated from sedimentation.
Fusain, which is commonly found in silky and fibrous lenses that are only millimetres thick and centimetres long. Most fusain is extremely soft and crumbles readily into a fine, sootlike powder that soils the hands. Fusain is composed mainly of fusinite (carbonized woody plant tissue) and semifusinite from the maceral group inertinite, which is rich in carbon and highly reflective. It closely resembles charcoal, both chemically and physically, and is believed to have been formed in peat deposits swept by forest fires, by fungal activity that generated intense heat, or by subsurface oxidation of coal.
Banded and nonbanded coals
The term coal type is employed to distinguish between banded coals and nonbanded coals. Banded coals contain varying amounts of vitrinite and opaque material. They are made up of less than 5 percent anthraxylon (the translucent glossy jet-black material in bituminous coal) that alternates with thin bands of dull coal called attritus. Banded coals include bright coal, which contains more than 80 percent vitrinite, and splint coal, which contains more than 30 percent opaque matter. The nonbanded varieties include boghead coal, which has a high percentage of algal remains, and cannel coal, which has a high percentage of spores in its attritus (that is, pulverized or finely divided matter). The anthraxylon content in nonbanded coals exceeds 5 percent. The usage of all the above terms is quite subjective.

Ranking by coalification
Hydrocarbon content
The oldest coal-classification system was based on criteria of chemical composition. Developed in 1837 by the French chemist Henri-Victor Regnault, it was improved in later systems that classified coals on the basis of their hydrogen and carbon content. However, because the relationships between chemistry and other coal properties are complex, such classifications are rarely used for practical purposes today.

Chemical content and properties
Coal is divided into a number of ranks to help buyers such as electrical utilities assess the calorific value and volatile matter content of each unit of coal they purchase. The most commonly employed systems of classification are those based on analyses that can be performed relatively easily in the laboratory—for example, determining the percentage of volatile matter lost upon heating to about 950 °C (about 1,750 °F) or the amount of heat released during combustion of the coal under standard conditions (see also coal utilization). ASTM International (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials) assigns ranks to coals on the basis of fixed carbon content, volatile matter content, and calorific value. In addition to the major ranks (lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite), each rank may be divided into coal groups such as high-volatile A bituminous coal. These categories differ slightly between countries; however, the ranks are often comparable with respect to moisture, volatile matter content, and heating value. Other designations, such as coking coal and steam coal, have been applied to coals, and they also tend to differ from country to country.

Comparison of coal-rank terminologies by country.
Comparison of coal-rank terminologies by country.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Virtually all classification systems use the percentage of volatile matter present to distinguish coal ranks. In the ASTM classification, high-volatile A bituminous (and higher ranks) are classified on the basis of their volatile matter content. Coals of lower rank are classified primarily on the basis of their heat values, because of their wide ranges in volatile matter content (including moisture). The agglomerating character of a coal refers to its ability to soften and swell when heated and to form cokelike masses that are used in the manufacture of steel. The most suitable coals for agglomerating purposes are in the bituminous rank.

Coal analyses may be presented in the form of “proximate” and “ultimate” analyses, whose analytical conditions are prescribed by organizations such as ASTM. A typical proximate analysis includes the moisture, ash, volatile matter, and fixed carbon contents. (Fixed carbon is the material, other than ash, that does not vaporize when heated in the absence of air. It is usually determined by subtracting the sum of the first three values—moisture, ash, and volatile matter—in weight percent from 100 percent.) It is important for economic reasons to know the moisture and ash contents of a coal because they do not contribute to the heating value of a coal. In most cases ash becomes an undesirable residue and a source of pollution, but for some purposes (e.g., use as a chemical source or for coal liquefaction) the presence of mineral matter may be desirable. Most of the heat value of a coal comes from its volatile matter, excluding moisture, and fixed carbon content. For most coals it is necessary to measure the actual amount of heat released upon combustion (expressed in megajoules per kilogram or British thermal units per pound).

Ultimate analyses are used to determine the carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, nitrogen, ash, oxygen, and moisture contents of a coal. For specific applications, other chemical analyses may be employed. These may involve, for example, identifying the forms of sulfur present. Sulfur may occur in the form of sulfide minerals (pyrite and marcasite), sulfate minerals (gypsum), or organically bound sulfur. In other cases the analyses may involve determining the trace elements present (e.g., mercury, chlorine), which may influence the suitability of a coal for a particular purpose or help to establish methods for reducing environmental pollution and so forth.

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Origin Of Coal
Coal-forming materials
Plant matter
It is generally accepted that most coals formed from plants that grew in and adjacent to swamps in warm, humid regions. Material derived from these plants accumulated in low-lying areas that remained wet most of the time and was converted to peat through the activity of microorganisms. (It should be noted that peat can occur in temperate regions [e.g., Ireland and the state of Michigan in the United States] and even in subarctic regions [e.g., the Scandinavian countries].) Under certain conditions this organic material continued to accumulate and was later converted into coal. Much of the plant matter that accumulates on the surface of Earth is never converted to peat or to coal, because it is removed by fire or organic decomposition. Hence, the vast coal deposits found in ancient rocks must represent periods during which several favourable biological and physical processes occurred at the same time.

Evidence that coal was derived from plants comes from three principal sources. First, lignites, the lowest coal rank, often contain recognizable plant remains. Second, sedimentary rock layers above, below, and adjacent to coal seams contain plant fossils in the form of impressions and carbonized films (e.g., leaves and stems) and casts of larger parts such as roots, branches, and trunks. Third, even coals of advanced rank may reveal the presence of precursor plant material. When examined microscopically in thin sections or polished blocks, cell walls, cuticles (the outer wall of leaves), spores, and other structures can still be recognized (see below Macerals). Algal and fungal remains also may be present. (Algae are major components in boghead coal, a type of sapropelic coal.)

The fossil record
Anthracite (the highest coal rank) material, which appears to have been derived from algae, is known from the Proterozoic Eon (approximately 2.5 billion to 541 million years ago) of Precambrian time. Siliceous rocks of the same age contain fossil algae and fungi. These early plants were primarily protists (solitary or aggregate unicellular organisms that include yellow-green algae, golden-brown algae, and diatoms) that lived in aqueous environments. By the Silurian Period (443.8 million to 419.2 million years ago), plants had developed the ability to survive on land and had invaded the planet’s coastal areas.


Evidence for coastal forests is preserved in strata of the Ordovician Period (485.4 million to 443.8 million years ago). By the latter half of the Paleozoic Era, plants had undergone extensive evolution and occupied many previously vacant environments (this phenomenon is sometimes called adaptive radiation).

There were two major eras of coal formation in geologic history. The older includes the Carboniferous Period (extending from 358.9 million to 298.9 million years ago and often divided into the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian subperiods) and the Permian Period (from approximately 298.9 million to 251.9 million years ago) of the Paleozoic Era. Much of the bituminous coal of eastern North America and Europe is Carboniferous in age. Most coals in Siberia, eastern Asia, and Australia are of Permian origin.

Pennsylvanian coal forest dioramaThe lone tree with horizontal grooves in the right foreground is a jointed sphenopsid (Calamites); the large trees with scar patterns are lycopsids.
Pennsylvanian coal forest dioramaThe lone tree with horizontal grooves in the right foreground is a jointed sphenopsid (Calamites); the large trees with scar patterns are lycopsids.
Courtesy of the Department Library Services, American Museum of Natural History, neg. #333983

The younger era of coal formation began about 135 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period and reached its peak approximately 66 million to 2.6 million years ago, during the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic Era. Most of the coals that formed during this later era are lignites and subbituminous (brown) coals. These are widespread in western North America (including Alaska), southern France and central Europe, Japan, and Indonesia.

Late Paleozoic flora included sphenopsids, lycopsids, pteropsids, and the Cordaitales. The sphenopsid Calamites grew as trees in swamps. Calamites had long, jointed stems with sparse foliage. The lycopsids included species of Lepidodendron and Sigillaria (up to 30 metres [about 100 feet] tall) that grew in somewhat drier areas. Pteropsids included both true ferns (Filicineae) and extinct seed ferns (Pteridospermaphyta), which grew in relatively dry environments. The Cordaitales, which had tall stems and long, narrow, palmlike leaves, also favoured drier areas. During the Cretaceous and Cenozoic the angiosperms (flowering plants) evolved, producing a diversified flora from which the younger coals developed.

Formation processes
Peat
Although peat is used as a source of energy, it is not usually considered a coal. It is the precursor material from which coals are derived, and the process by which peat is formed is studied in existing swamps in many parts of the world (e.g., in the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia, U.S., and along the southwestern coast of New Guinea). The formation of peat is controlled by several factors, including (1) the evolutionary development of plant life, (2) the climatic conditions (warm enough to sustain plant growth and wet enough to permit the partial decomposition of the plant material and preserve the peat), and (3) the physical conditions of the area (its geographic position relative to the sea or other bodies of water, rates of subsidence or uplift, and so forth). Warm moist climates are thought to produce broad bands of bright coal, a type of bituminous coal characterized by its fine banding and high concentrations of nitrogen, sulfur, and moisture. Cooler temperate climates, on the other hand, are thought to produce detrital coal (which is thought to be the remains of preexisting coal beds) with relatively little bright coal.

peat bog
peat bog
Inundated peat bog in Thailand.
tigger11th—iStock/Thinkstock
Initially, the area on which a future coal seam may be developed must be uplifted so that plant growth can be established. Areas near seacoasts or low-lying areas near streams stay moist enough for peat to form, but elevated swamps (some bogs and moors) can produce peat only if the annual precipitation exceeds annual evaporation and little percolation or drainage occurs. Thick peat deposits necessary for coal formation develop at sites where the following conditions exist: slow, continuous subsidence; the presence of such natural structures as levees, beaches, and bars that give protection from frequent inundation; and a restricted supply of incoming sediments that would interrupt peat formation. In such areas the water may become quite stagnant (except for a few rivers traversing the swamp), and plant material can continue to accumulate. Microorganisms attack the plant material and convert it to peat. Very close to the surface where oxygen is still readily available (aerobic, or oxidizing, conditions), the decomposition of the plant material produces mostly gaseous and liquid products. With increasing depth, however, the conditions become increasingly anaerobic (reducing), and molds and peats develop. The process of peat formation—biochemical coalification—is most active in the upper few metres of a peat deposit. Fungi are not found below about 0.5 metre (about 18 inches), and most forms of microbial life are eliminated at depths below about 10 metres (about 30 feet). If either the rate of subsidence or the rate of influx of new sediment increases, the peat will be buried and soon thereafter the coalification process—geochemical coalification—begins. The cycle may be repeated many times, which accounts for the numerous coal seams found in some sedimentary basins.

Coalification
The general sequence of coalification is from lignite to subbituminous to bituminous to anthracite (see above Coal types and ranks). Since microbial activity ceases within a few metres of Earth’s surface, the coalification process must be controlled primarily by changes in physical conditions that take place with depth. Some coal characteristics are determined by events that occur during peat formation—e.g., charcoal-like material in coal is attributed to fires that occurred during dry periods while peat was still forming.

Brown-coal (lignite) pit in Eschweiler in the Rhenish field between Cologne and Aachen, Germany.
Brown-coal (lignite) pit in Eschweiler in the Rhenish field between Cologne and Aachen, Germany.
Gunter Brinkmann/Bavaria
Three major physical factors—duration, increasing temperature, and increasing pressure—may influence the coalification process. In laboratory experiments artificially prepared coals are influenced by the duration of the experiment, but in nature the length of time is substantially longer and the overall effect of time remains undetermined. Low-rank coal (i.e., brown coal) in the Moscow Basin was deposited during Carboniferous time but was not buried deeply and never reached a higher rank. The most widely accepted explanation is that coalification takes place in response to increasing temperature. In general, temperature increases with depth. This geothermal gradient averages about 30 °C (about 85 °F) per kilometre, but the gradient ranges from less than 10 °C (50 °F) per kilometre in regions undergoing very rapid subsidence to more than 100 °C (212 °F) per kilometre in areas of igneous activity. Measurements of thicknesses of sedimentary cover and corresponding coal ranks suggest that temperatures lower than 200 °C (about 390 °F) are sufficient to produce coal of anthracite rank. The effect of increasing pressure due to depth of burial is not considered to cause coalification. In fact, increasing overburden pressure might have the opposite effect if volatile compounds such as methane that must escape during coalification are retained. Pressure may influence the porosity and moisture content of coal.

SpaceNext50



Structure And Properties Of Coal
Organic compounds
The plant material from which coal is derived is composed of a complex mixture of organic compounds, including cellulose, lignin, fats, waxes, and tannins. As peat formation and coalification proceed, these compounds, which have more or less open structures, are broken down, and new compounds—primarily aromatic (benzenelike) and hydroaromatic—are produced. In vitrinite these compounds are connected by cross-linking oxygen, sulfur, and molecules such as methylene. During coalification, volatile phases rich in hydrogen and oxygen (e.g., water, carbon dioxide, and methane) are produced and escape from the mass; hence, the coal becomes progressively richer in carbon. The classification of coal by rank is based on these changes—i.e., as coalification proceeds, the amount of volatile matter gradually decreases and the amount of fixed carbon increases. As volatiles are expelled, more carbon-to-carbon linkages occur in the remaining coal until, having reached the anthracite rank, it takes on many of the characteristics of the end product of the metamorphism of carbonaceous material—namely, graphite. Coals pass through several structural states as the bonds between the aromatic nuclei increase.

Properties
Many of the properties of coal are strongly rank-dependent, although other factors such as maceral composition and the presence of mineral matter also influence its properties. Several techniques have been developed for studying the physical and chemical properties of coal, including density measurements, X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectrophotometry, mass spectroscopy, gas chromatography, thermal analysis, and electrical, optical, and magnetic measurements.

Density
Knowledge of the physical properties of coal is important in coal preparation and utilization. For example, coal density ranges from approximately 1.1 to about 1.5 megagrams per cubic metre, or grams per cubic centimetre (1 megagram per cubic metre equals 1 gram per cubic centimetre). Coal is slightly denser than water (1.0 megagram per cubic metre) and significantly less dense than most rock and mineral matter (e.g., shale has a density of about 2.7 megagrams per cubic metre and pyrite of 5.0 megagrams per cubic metre). Density differences make it possible to improve the quality of a coal by removing most of the rock matter and sulfide-rich fragments by means of heavy liquid separation (fragments with densities greater than about 1.5 megagrams per cubic metre settle out while the coal floats on top of the liquid). Devices such as cyclones and shaker tables also separate coal particles from rock and pyrite on the basis of their different densities.


Porosity
Coal density is controlled in part by the presence of pores that persist throughout coalification. Measurement of pore sizes and pore distribution is difficult; however, there appear to be three size ranges of pores: (1) macropores (diameter greater than 50 nanometres), (2) mesopores (diameter 2 to 50 nanometres), and (3) micropores (diameter less than 2 nanometres). (One nanometre is equal to 10−9 metre.) Most of the effective surface area of a coal—about 200 square metres per gram—is not on the outer surface of a piece of coal but is located inside the coal in its pores. The presence of pore space is important in the production of coke, gasification, liquefaction, and the generation of high-surface-area carbon for purifying water and gases. From the standpoint of safety, coal pores may contain significant amounts of adsorbed methane that may be released during mining operations and form explosive mixtures with air. The risk of explosion can be reduced by adequate ventilation during mining or by prior removal of coal-bed methane.

Reflectivity
An important property of coal is its reflectivity (or reflectance)—i.e., its ability to reflect light. Reflectivity is measured by shining a beam of monochromatic light (with a wavelength of 546 nanometres) on a polished surface of the vitrinite macerals in a coal sample and measuring the percentage of the light reflected with a photometer. Vitrinite is used because its reflectivity changes gradually with increasing rank. Fusinite reflectivities are too high due to its origin as charcoal, and liptinites tend to disappear with increasing rank. Although little of the incident light is reflected (ranging from a few tenths of a percent to 12 percent), the value increases with rank and can be used to determine the rank of most coals without measuring the percentage of volatile matter present.


The study of coals (and coaly particles called phyterals) in sedimentary basins containing oil and/or gas reveals a close relationship between coalification and the maturation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. During the initial stages of coalification (to a reflectivity of almost 0.5 and near the boundary between subbituminous and high-volatile C bituminous coal), hydrocarbon generation produces chiefly methane. The maximum generation of liquid petroleum occurs during the development of high-volatile bituminous coals (in the reflectivity range from roughly 0.5 to about 1.3). With increasing depth and temperature, petroleum liquids break down and, finally, only natural gas (methane) remains. Geologists can use coal reflectivity to anticipate the potential for finding liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons as they explore for petroleum.

Other properties
Other properties, such as hardness, grindability, ash-fusion temperature, and free-swelling index (a visual measurement of the amount of swelling that occurs when a coal sample is heated in a covered crucible), may affect coal mining and preparation, as well as the way in which a coal is used. Hardness and grindability determine the kinds of equipment used for mining, crushing, and grinding coals in addition to the amount of power consumed in their operation. Ash-fusion temperature influences furnace design and operating conditions. The free-swelling index provides preliminary information concerning the suitability of a coal for coke production.

SpaceNext50



World Distribution Of Coal
General occurrence
Coal is a widespread resource of energy and chemicals. Although terrestrial plants necessary for the development of coal did not become abundant until Carboniferous time (358.9 million to 298.9 million years ago), large sedimentary basins containing rocks of Carboniferous age and younger are known on virtually every continent, including Antarctica (not shown on the map). The presence of large coal deposits in regions that now have arctic or subarctic climates (such as Alaska and Siberia) is due to climatic changes and to the tectonic motion of crustal plates that moved ancient continental masses over Earth’s surface, sometimes through subtropical and even tropical regions. Coal is absent in some areas (such as Greenland and much of northern Canada) because the rocks found there predate the Carboniferous Period and these regions, known as continental shields, lacked the abundant terrestrial plant life needed for the formation of major coal deposits.

[Juliar]

The idiot BigP is so jealous of my superior ability he just keeps spamming to try to deliberately disrupt my threads. Definitely a Greeny as they always HATE you after you make them look silly.

Over on the other place I had about 3 of these Greeny dipsticks trolling me.

It is good fun stirring these silly coots as they are so easy to trip up. Now see if I can get the drongo going again.


Back to the topic and away from that awful uneducated wobbly Greeny.

China is all coal fired up again.



Years after freezing new projects, China is back to building coal power plants
By Gerry Shih  November 20, 2019 at 10:08 p.m. GMT+11


The Zhongxing power plant in Penglai is one of many coal power plants being built in China despite a 2017 freeze. Local residents say the new furnaces and a smokestack at the Zhongxing power plant broke ground this year. (Gerry Shih/The Washington Post)

PENGLAI, China — When Chinese authorities declared three years ago that they would limit the use of coal energy and canceled more than 100 coal power projects, climate campaigners cheered what seemed to be a sweeping policy reversal for the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter.

They may have celebrated too soon.

Here on the Shandong province coastline, cranes perched over a half-built smokestack and two furnaces show how once-suspended coal power projects are being revived — and entering service — across China, tilting the balance of coal power worldwide and worrying climate scientists.

In the past two years, China has expanded its coal fleet by 43 gigawatts — roughly the entire coal-fired capacity of Germany — according to Global Energy Monitor, a group that tracks construction in the Chinese power industry using public announcements and satellite images.

Excluding China, global coal power capacity would otherwise be dropping as countries in Europe and elsewhere decommission old facilities and switch to other energy sources, the group said in a report released Wednesday.

“To meet Paris climate goals, climate scientists say global coal power needs to be reduced 70 percent by 2030 and phased out completely by 2050,” said Christine Shearer of Global Energy Monitor. “China’s proposal to continue adding new coal power capacity through 2035 flies directly in the face of these needed emission reductions, and jeopardizes global climate goals.”

Beijing air improves significantly in past five years, study finds

Researchers say China and ­climate-change efforts worldwide are facing a crucial juncture. After years of progress with air quality and declining coal consumption, China’s leaders in recent weeks have signaled a subtle shift as they manage the slowest growth levels in almost three decades and a damaging trade war with the United States.

In a departure from earlier speeches, Premier Li Keqiang last month urged the coal industry to play a role in securing the country’s energy supply. Weeks earlier, top officials said they would relax air-quality controls this winter, perhaps to buoy important but dirty drivers of economic activity, such as steel mills and construction. And at least 40 new coal mines have been approved this year, China’s energy administration told reporters last month.

Researchers who examine Chinese policy say a vigorous debate is taking place behind the scenes. The country’s Communist Party rulers are consulting industry and academia to formulate a comprehensive development blueprint, known as the five-year plan, to take effect in 2021.


[highlight]Read on here[/highlight]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as ... story.html

[Juliar]

Asia is set to support global coal demand for the next five years
in Commodity News 18/12/2019

Global coal demand is expected to decline in 2019 but remain broadly stable over the next five years, supported by robust growth in major Asian markets, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest market analysis and forecasts.

The weakness in coal demand this year results mainly from coal-fired electricity generation, which is set to experience its largest ever decline – over 250 terawatt hours (TWh), or more than 2.5%. This drop is led by double-digit falls in the United States and Europe, according to Coal 2019, which was released today and contains forecasts through 2024.

It is too soon to say whether the expected global decrease in coal power generation this year will be the start of a lasting trend. The IEA forecasts that renewable sources will supply a major portion of the increase in global electricity demand over the next five years. Electricity generation from coal will rise only marginally over that period, at less than 1% per year – and its share will decline from 38% in 2018 to 35% in 2024. This means coal remains by far the single largest source of power supply worldwide.

Ultimately, global trends will depend largely on China, where half of the world’s coal is produced and consumed.

In Europe and the United States, coal power generation is sinking to levels not seen in decades. Growth in solar PV and wind, low natural gas prices and stagnating electricity demand have created a perfect storm for coal in both regions, where coal plants retirements continue to take place. These trends will continue through 2024, although the speed of the declines is expected to slow unless coal comes under additional pressure from stronger climate policies or lower-than-expected natural gas prices.

“Wind and solar PV are growing rapidly in many parts of the world. With investment in new plants drying up, coal power capacity outside Asia is clearly declining and will continue to do so in the coming years,” said Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA’s Director of Energy Markets and Security, who is launching the report in Johannesburg today alongside Gwede Mantashe, South Africa’s Minister of Mineral and Energy Resources.

“But this is not the end of coal, since demand continues to expand in Asia,” Mr Sadamori added. “The region’s share of global coal power generation has climbed from just over 20% in 1990 to almost 80% in 2019, meaning coal’s fate is increasingly tied to decisions made in Asian capitals.”

The report highlights that countries in South and Southeast Asia – such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam – are relying on coal to fuel their economic growth. Natural gas and oil have traditionally been the main sources of power generation in Pakistan, but the country has commissioned 5 gigawatts (GW) of coal power capacity since 2017, and another 5 GW is set to come online in the next few years. In Bangladesh, where natural gas has long generated the bulk of electricity supply, coal will gain share in the coming years, with 10 GW of capacity in the pipeline.

“In 2019, global coal power generation will experience the biggest drop ever and coal power generation in India will probably decline for the first time in 45 years,” Mr Sadamori said. “The global picture, however, has not changed much. Coal is disappearing in many advanced economies, but it remains resilient and is even continuing to grow in developing Asia. The low coal power generation in India this year was due to unusually low growth in electricity demand and exceptionally high hydropower output. It is not at all clear that it will be repeated.”

The IEA forecast for global coal demand in this year’s report is very similar to those in previous years, but Coal 2019 warns that potential threats to the sector are increasing. Public opposition to coal is building, many countries are mulling stronger climate and environmental policies, and renewables and natural gas are becoming more and more competitive.
Source: IEA

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/as ... ive-years/

[Juliar]

Fence to keep the Greeny troll out.

[BigP]

The Northern Coal-Owners and the Opposition to the Coal Mines Act of 1842
A. J. Heesom
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859000006301Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2008
Extract
“Never have I seen such a display of selfishness, frigidity to every human sentiment, such ready and happy self-delusion”, wrote Lord Ashley of the opposition to his coal-mines bill in the House of Lords. Historians have tended to confirm Ashley's judgement, and agreed that the motives of the Northern coal-owners in opposing the bill were inspired by simple self-interest, a desire to preserve their right to dispose of their pits, and the men, women and children in them, as they saw fit. It would, of course, be naive to suggest that the Northern coal-owners were not self-interested, but it is perhaps worth analysing the nature of that self-interest, which was not, as the simple and usual dismissal of it would suggest, merely an assertion of proprietorial rights.

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References
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1 Ashley's diary, 26 July, in Hodder, E., The Life and Work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G. (London, 1887), I, p. 431.Google Scholar All dates cited refer to the year 1842, unless otherwise specified. For the traditional view of the coal-owners, see, e.g., J. L., and Hammond, B., Lord Shaftesbury (London, 1969), pp. 75–83.Google Scholar

2 Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, Third Series, LXIV, cc. 784, 936, 999; LXV, c. 118.Google Scholar

3 Ashley's diary, 16 June, loc. cit., p. 426. Men like John Fielden or William Cooke Taylor may have disputed this claim, see Bythell, D., The Handloom Weavers (Cambridge, 1969), p. 255.CrossRef | Google Scholar For handloom weavers becoming pitmen, cf. ibid., p. 262.

4 Hansard, LXV, c. 109.

5 Ibid., LXIV, c. 999; LXV, cc. 119–20.

6 Londonderry to Peel, 20 July, Peel papers, British Library, Additional Manuscripts 40512, ft. 35–36.

7 Hansard, LXV, c. 122; Children's Employment Commission (hereafter CEC), Appendix to First Report, Pt I [Parliamentary Papers, 1842, XVI], p. 265.Google Scholar

8 Hansard, LXV, cc. 123–24, 316ndash;17, 586–87.

9 Morris, J. H. and Williams, L. J., The South Wales Coal Industry, 1841–1875 (Cardiff, 1958), p. 215.Google Scholar

10 Hansard, LXIX, cc. 429–57.

11 Ibid., LXV, cc. 582, 586. The Morning Post, 26 July, toned down Campbell's speech to read: “He could scarcely think the alternative of the workhouse worse than their present condition.”

12 Hansard, LXIII, cc. 197–98; LXV, cc. 118, 316–17; LXIX, c. 437.

13 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 257Google Scholar; id., Pt II [PP, 1842, XVII], p. 516. Janet Neilson, from Fife, “much prefers service”, but supposed her father needed her earnings, PtI, p. 514.

14 Hansard, LXV, cc. 111–12.

15 Buddie, “Comments on Ashley's Speech”, National Coal Board Manuscripts 1/ JB/1788 Durham County Record Ofiice; id., “Remarks on Lord Ashley's Bill, clause by clause”, ibid., 1795. Cf. Buddie to Londonderry, 14 May, in which Buddie describes the employment of women as “an abomination”, Londonderry Manuscripts D/Lo/C 142 (1313), Durham County Record Office.

16 Ashley's diary, 28 June, loc. cit., p. 428; Mather, F. C., After the Canal Duke (Oxford, 1970), pp. 322–23Google Scholar; Hansard, LXIX, c. 438.

17 Hansard, LXV, c. 119. Londonderry also warned that poor rates must go up, or be subsidised from, for instance, increased excise duties, ibid., c. 582.

18 Ibid., LXIV, c. 1000.

19 Ibid., LXIX, c. 444. A Scottish miner, opposing Cumming Bruce's motion in a speech at Newcastle, 11 March 1843, “trusted that every pitman would be prepared to resist the slightest tampering with Lord Ashley's bill”, Hamilton-Russell Manuscripts, Northumberland County Record Office, 602/25/15.

20 Hansard, LXIII, cc. 1339–40.

21 Ibid., LXIV, cc. 1000–01.

22 Ibid., LXIII, cc. 197–98; LXIV, cc. 783–84; LXV, cc. 575–76.

23 Ibid., LXIII, c. 197; LXIV, c. 542, note.

24 J. L. and B. Hammond, Shaftesbury, op. cit., pp. 77–81; Mee, G., Aristocratic Enterprise; The Fitzwilliam Industrial Undertakings 1795–1857 (London, 1975)Google Scholar; Heesom, A. J., “Entrepreneurial Paternalism: The Third Lord Londonderry and the Coal Trade”, in: Durham University Journal, New Series, XXXV (1974), pp. 238–56.Google Scholar

25 Greville, C. C. F., A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria, 1837–1852 (London, 1885), II, p. 304.Google Scholar Greville was Egerton's brother-in-law; but cf. sub-commissioner Kennedy, in CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt II, pp. 152, 194.Google Scholar

26 Hansard, LXIII, cc. 1357–58.

27 Ibid., cc. 1353–54, 1361. Of South Durham, the Children's Employment Commission wrote: “in this district children are sometimes taken down into the pits as early as five years of age, and by no means uncommonly at six”; in North Durham (where the Lambton collieries were) one case was recorded “in which a child was taken into the pit at four and a half years old; and several at five and between five and six”, CEC, First Report [PP, 1842, XV], p. 28.Google Scholar

28 Lambton to Buddie, 13 and 27 May, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1782, 1785; Buddie to Lambton, 28 May, ibid., 1786.I have referred, as they did themselves, to the united coal-owners of Northumberland and Durham as the Northern Coal Trade; the same phrase, lower-case, is used as a general description for the coal-owners in the North of England.

29 Hansard, LV, c. 1264.

30 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 174.Google Scholar

31 Hansard, LXIII, c. 1356.

32 Buddie to Londonderry, 16 May, Londonderry Manuscripts 142 (1315).

33 Buddie to Lambton, 28 May.

34 Buddie, “Comments on Lord Ashley's Speech”.

35 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 285.Google Scholar

36 Hansard, LXIV, c. 545, note.

37 Coal Trade United Committee Minutes, 1840–44, pp. 170–72, Coal Trade Papers, Northumberland County Record Office.

38 Taylor, A. J., “The Third Marquess of Londonderry and the North East Coal Trade”, in: Durham University Journal, New Series, XVII (1955–1956), pp. 237ndash;24Google Scholar; Heesom, “Entrepreneurial Paternalism”, loc. cit., pp. 240–42; Hiskey, C. E., “John Buddie (1773–1843): Agent and Entrepreneur in the North East Coal Trade” (unpublished M.Litt. thesis, University of Durham, 1979), pp. 292–94.Google Scholar

39 Lambton to Morton, 24 June, National Coal Board Manuscripts 1/JB/1793; Buddle to Lambton, 27 June, ibid., 1794; id. to Londonderry, 9 July, ibid., 1801; Hansard, LXV, cc. 3–4. Buddie's view of his role is borne out both by the original resolution of the United Committee, with its talk of “enforcing opinions”, and his own diary, clearly written from day to day, where he recalls his instructions as being “to endeavour to get Lord Ashley to fix the minimum age for lads to be initiated in pit-work at ten, instead of thirteen”. Buddle's place-book, Buddie Manuscripts, Shelf 47 A, Vol. 13, pp. 149–51, North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, Newcastle.

40 Buddie's place-book, 15–20 June, pp. 151–55; Taylor, “The Third Marquess of Londonderry”, loc. cit., p. 23, note 15, mistranscribes the date “June 18th 1842. Saturday” as 17 June.

41 Buddle's place-book, 20 June; Taylor, loc. cit., p. 23, note 17, omits Egerton; confuses Lord Harry Vane, MP for South Durham, and no relation to Londonderry, with Henry Vane, Viscount Seaham, Londonderry's son; and also confuses James Loch with James Losh, a Newcastle coal agent who died in 1833.

42 Buddle to Londonderry, 21 June, Londonderry Manuscripts 142 (1316).

43 Lambton to Morton, 24 June.

44 Hansard, LXIV, c. 426.

45 Ibid., cc. 538–44; Morning Post, 25 June.

46 Hansard, LXI1I, cc. 196–99.

47 Londonderry to Buddie, 12 May, National Coal Board Manuscripts l/JB/1781; id. to Brandling, 28 May, Coal Trade United Committee Minutes, 1840–44, p. 166 b.

48 Notice of petition, 8 June, Coal Trade Papers, Coal Trade Reports 1833–54; Buddie's place-book, 6 June, p. 146.

49 Buddle to Londonderry, 19 June, Londonderry Manuscripts 142(1317); Londonderry to Buddle, 21 June, National Coal Board Manuscripts 1/JB/1791.

50 Lambton to Morton, 24 June.

51 Ashley to Buddle, 28 June, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1796.

52 Buddle to Londonderry, 9 July.

53 Buddle to Ashley, 5 July (2 letters), National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1797–98.

54 Ashley to Buddle, 8 July, ibid., 1799.

55 Buddle to Ashley, 11 July (draft), ibid., 1804.

56 Peel to Londonderry, 22 July, Peel Papers, loc. cit., ff. 71–72.

57 Hansard, LXIV, c. 426.

58 Ashley's diary, 28 June, loc. cit., p. 428.

59 Buddle's place-book, 21 June, pp. 158–60.

60 Hansard, LXV, cc. 104, 120–22.

61 MacDonagh, O., “Coal Mines Regulation: The First Decade, 1842–1852”, in: Ideas and Institutions of Victorian Britain, ed. by Robson, R. (London, 1967), p. 62Google Scholar; J. L., and Hammond, B., Shaftesbury, p. 79, note 2.Google Scholar

62 Ashley's diary, 2 July, loc. cit., p. 429. Hedworth Lambton held Wharncliffe culpable, cf. his letter to Ashley, Hansard, LXV, cc. 1096–97.

63 Ashley's diary, 23 June, loc. cit., p. 426.

64 On the “compromise”, see Taylor, , “The Third Marquess of Londonderry”, p. 24Google Scholar, and Heesom, , “Entrepreneurial Paternalism”, p. 242.Google Scholar

65 Buddle's place-book, 21 June.

66 CEC, First Report, pp. 68–69.

67 Ibid., pp. 59–60.

68 Ibid., Appendix, Pt I, p. 143.

69 Hansard, LXIV, c. 1000.

70 Buddle's place-book, 21 June.

71 Hansard, LXIV, c. 545, note.

72 CEC, First Report, p. 271.

73 Hansard, LXIV, cc. 426–27.

74 Ibid., LV, c. 1274.

75 Ibid., LXIV, c. 427.

76 Ibid., cc. 545–56, note.

77 Buddle to Lambton, 28 May.

78 Hansard, LXIII, cc. 1363–64.

79 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt II, p. 193.

80 Buddle to Lambton, 28 May.

81 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 660.

82 Colls, R., “‘Oh Happy English Childeren!’: Coal, Class, and Education in the North-East”, in: Past & Present, No 73 (1976), pp. 75–99CrossRef | Google Scholar; A. J. Heesom, “Coal, Class and Education”, ibid., forthcoming.

83 Hansard, LXIII, c. 1354.

84 Heesom, , “Entrepreneurial Paternalism”, pp. 247–49.Google Scholar

85 Mee, Aristocratic Enterprise, op. cit., p. 142.

86 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt II, p. 194.Google Scholar

87 Richards, E., “The Industrial Face of a Great Estate: Trentham and Lilleshall, 1780–1860”, in: Economic History Review, Second Series, XXVII (1974), p. 428.Google Scholar

88 Hansard, LXV, c. 111.

89 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 428.Google Scholar

90 Buddle, “Comments on Ashley's Speech”.

91 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 259Google Scholar; Hansard, LXIII, c. 1355.

92 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt II, p. 152.Google Scholar

93 Ibid., Pt I, pp. 242–43. The pitmen argued that mechanical ventilation was unsafe, and a mere device “to save the masters a few paltry shillings in wages”, Fynes, R., The Miners of Northumberland and Durham (Wakefield, 1971), p. 59.Google Scholar

94 Buddle's place-book, 21 June; Hansard, LXV, c. 120.

95 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, pp. 132–33.Google Scholar

96 Hansard, LXIII, c. 1321.

97 Morton to Buddle, 27 June, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1792.

98 Hansard, LXIV, cc. 538–39; Morning Post, 25 June; Hansard, LXV, cc. 6–7.

99 Hansard, LXV, cc. 111,117.

100 Ibid., LXIV, cc. 1166–68.

101 Wellington to Londonderry, 12 May, Londonderry Manuscripts 113 (202).

102 Londonderry to Brandling, 28 May; Coal Trade United Committee Minutes, 1840–1844, 30 05, p. 169.Google Scholar

103 Piele Sen. to Buddle, 12 July, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1805.

104 Ashley's diary, 8 July, loc. cit., p. 430.

105 Hansard, LXV, cc. 116–17.

106 Ashley's diary, 1 August, quoted in Best, G., Shaftesbury (London, 1964), p. 105.Google Scholar

107 Hansard, LXIII, cc. 1354–55; LXIV, cc. 424, 1000–07.

108 Robson to Buddle, 11 July, National Coal Board Manuscripts, l/JB/1803.

109 Piele Sen. to Buddle, 12 July; Piele Jun. to Buddle, 12 July, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1805.

110 Returns of the ages of the pitmen in the Londonderry collieries, ibid., 1790; Hansard, LXIII, c. 1355.

111 Buddle, “Comments on Ashley's Speech”.

112 Hansard, LXIV, c. 1000.

113 Ibid., LXV, c. 581.

114 Ibid., LXIV, c. 539; CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 525, where Leifchild denies having asked leading questions.

115 CEC, First Report, p. 25.Google Scholar

116 Ibid., Appendix, Pt I, p. 307; Hansard, LXIV, cc. 1005–06.

117 Hansard, LXIII, c. 1328.

118 Morning Chronicle, 7 May; Ashley's diary, 14 May, in Hodder, op. cit., p. 418.

119 Hansard, LXIV, c. 579.

120 Baines, E., Jun., The Social, Educational, and Religious State of the Manufacturing Districts […] in Two Letters to Sir Robt. Peel (London, 1843), p. 6.Google Scholar

121 Ashley's diary, 3 March, loc. cit., p. 409.

122 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 173.

123 Ibid., p. 307.

124 Ibid., Pt II, p. 182.

125 Ibid., Pt I, pp. 524–26.

126 Leifchild to Buddle, 18 May, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1783.

127 Hansard, LXIII, c. 1006.

128 Ibid., LXIV, c. 539.

129 Fox, Celina, “The Development of Social Reportage in English Periodical Illustration during the 1840s and Early 1850s”, in: Past & Present, No 74 (1977), pp. 94–99.CrossRef | Google Scholar Sub-commissioner Kennedy said one of his illustrations was to “convey to others impressions similar to those which ocular inspection had given to myself,” CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt II, p. 159.Google Scholar

130 Hansard, LXIII, c. 1360.

131 Ibid., LXIV, cc. 1003–04.

132 Ibid., LXIV, cc. 540–42; LXV, cc. 101–02, 118–19.

133 Londonderry to Buddie, 13 July, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1807: “If I cannot throw over the bill the Select Committee will with good management put an end to it for this session at least.”

134 Hansard, LXV, c. 114.

135 Ibid., LXIII, c. 1321.

136 Ashley's diary, 21 May – 1 June, loc. cit., pp. 419–20.

137 Hansard, LXV, c. 109.

138 Buddle to Londonderry, 6 June, Londonderry Manuscripts 142 (1297). The executive-committee minutes have not, apparently, survived before January 1842, so Buddle's statement cannot be corroborated, but there is no reason to suppose he would have invented it.

139 Hansard, LXIII, c. 1354.

140 Printed copy of the Mines Bill with manuscript additions. National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1815.

141 Hansard, LXV.c. 891.

142 Challinor, R. and Ripley, B., The Miners' Association: A Trade Union in the Age of the Chartists (London, 1968), pp. 212–13.Google Scholar

143 Hansard, LXV, cc. 891–92.

144 Printed copy of the Mines Bill etc., 1815.

145 Hansard, LXV, c. 892. Ashley protested that subterranean inspection was “altogether impossible; and indeed, if it were possible, it would not be safe. […] I for one should be very loth to go down the shafts for the purpose of doing some act that was likely to be distasteful to the colliers below”, ibid., LXIII, c. 1340.

146 Ibid., LXV, cc. 578–79, 587–88; Morning Post, 26 July.

147 Coal Trade United Committee Minutes, 1840–44, pp. 178–79; printed copies of the Mines Bill with manuscript additions, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1815–16.

148 Hansard, LXV, cc. 579–80.

149 Printed copy of the Mines Bill etc., 1816.

150 Webb, R. K., “A Whig Inspector”, in: Journal of Modern History, XXVII (1955), p. 359.Google Scholar

151 Hansard, LXV, c. 587.

152 Fourth Report from the Commissioner appointed under the Provisions of the Act 5 & 6 Vict., c. 99 [PP, 1847, XVI], pp. 428–29Google Scholar

153 Londonderry to Buddie, 28 January 1839, Londonderry Manuscripts 142 (1171).

154 Buddie to McDonnell, 1 June 1841, Buddie Letter Book, No 30, Buddie Manuscripts, Vol. 24.

155 Hunter to Londonderry, 15 December 1844, Londonderry Manuscripts 149 (199).

156 Londonderry to Graham, 23 February 1844, ibid., 454.

157 Hansard, LXV, c. 113.

158 Ibid., LV, c. 437.

159 Ibid., LXIII, c. 197.

160 Ibid., LXV, cc. 571–78, 583.

161 “Alfred”, The History of the Factory Movement (1857), quoted by Lubenow, W. C., The Politics of Government Growth (Newton Abbot, 1971), p. 137.Google Scholar For a discussion of the debate on the legitimacy of interference, see ibid., pp. 137–79.

162 Buddle, , “Comments on Ashley's Speech”. Londonderry paraphrased some of these comments in his speech on 24 June, Hansard, LXIV, cc. 543–44.Google Scholar

163 Mather, After the Canal Duke, op. cit., p. 321.

164 Hansard, LV, c. 1276.

165 For this “social control” argument, see Heesom, A. J., “The Coal Mines Act of 1842, Social Reform, and Social Control”, in: Historical Journal, forthcoming.Google Scholar

166 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt II, p. 192.Google Scholar

167 Ibid., Pt I, p. 176.

168 Ibid., Pt II, p. 195.

169 Horner, L., On the Employment of Children in Factories (1849), p. 15Google Scholar, quoted by Martin, B., “Leonard Horner: A Portrait of an Inspector of Factories”, in: International Review of Social History, XIV (1969), p. 439.Google Scholar

170 Hansard, XC.c. 773.

171 Ibid., LXIII, c. 1348.

172 Ibid., c. 1358.

173 Graham to Peel, 17 September, quoted in Parker, C. S., Sir Robert Peel from his Private Papers (London, 1899), II, p. 548.Google Scholar

174 Hansard, LXV, cc. 1097–98.

175 Gash, N., “Ashley and the Conservative Party in 1842”, in: English Historical Review, LIII (1938), pp. 679–81.CrossRef | Google Scholar

176 Hansard, LXV, cc. 1098–1100.

177 Aydelotte, W. O., “The Conservative and Radical Interpretations of Early Victorian Social Legislation”, in: Victorian Studies, XI (1967–1968), pp. 225–36.Google ScholarTaylor, A. J., “The Third Marquess of Londonderry”, p. 23Google Scholar, note 19, suggests that the Government might have feared alienating the coal interest because of its simultaneous taxation proposals, but though Bell, , Ashley's ally, was active against the tax (Hansard, LXIII, c. 1548)Google Scholar, Londonderry urged Peel: “Do not be apprehensive as to the coal tax”, Londonderry to Peel, 27 March, Peel Papers, loc. cit., 40505, ff. 168–69.

178 Buddle's place-book, 21 June.

179 Ashley's diary, 2 July, loc. cit., p. 429.

180 Hansard, LXV, cc. 583–84.

181 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 177.Google Scholar

182 Buddle to Londonderry, 6 June.

183 Report on the Administration and Practical Operation of the Poor Laws [PP, 1834, XXVII], p. 116.Google Scholar

184 Morning Post, 26 July; this speech does not appear in Hansard.

185 First Report from the Commissioner Appointed under the Provisions of the Act 5 & 6 Vict., c. 99 [PP, 1844, XVI], p. 4.Google Scholar

186 Hansard, LXV, c. 582.

187 Ibid., LXIX, c. 476. See also John, A. V., “Colliery Legislation and its Consequences: 1842 and the Women Miners of Lancashire”, in: Bulletin on the John Rylands Library, LXI (1978), pp. 78–114.CrossRef | Google Scholar

188 Hansard, LXV, c. 582.

189 Ibid., LXIII, c. 1348.

190 Mather, , After the Canal Duke, p. 323.Google Scholar

191 [Ferguson, Robert,] “Colliers and Collieries”, in: Quarterly Review, LXX (1842), p. 181.Google Scholar

192 Hansard, LXV, cc. 113–15, 584–85. Radnor was the only one who promised to support Londonderry if he divided on the second reading, but Londonderry thought “it was not prudent to show up weakness in pressing a division”, Londonderry to Buddie, 15 July, National Coal Board Manuscripts I/JB/1808. Radnor was presumably one of the three who voted for Londonderry's motion against the recommittal of the bill, Morning Post, 26 July. The numbers are not recorded in Hansard, and no list of names has apparently survived. For Radnor, see Huch, R. K., The Radical Lord Radnor: The Public Life of Viscount Folkestone, Third Earl of Radnor (Minneapolis, 1977).Google Scholar

193 [Ashley, Lord,] “Infant Labour”, in: Quarterly Review, LXVII, (1840), p. 175.Google Scholar

194 Hansard, LXV, c. 114.

195 Baines, State of the Manufacturing Districts, op. cit., pp. 53–54.

196 Morning Post, 12 July.

197 Hansard, LXIII, c. 199.

198 CEC, Appendix to First Report, Pt I, p. 313.Google Scholar

199 Best, Shaftesbury, op. cit., p. 81.

200 The Times, 11 July.

201 Ashley's diary, 1 June, loc. cit., p. 420.

202 Hansard, LXIII, c. 1323.

203 Leifchild to Buddle, 18 May.

204 Morning Chronicle, 10 May.

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[Juliar]

The retarded idiot BigP just cannot control her jealousy. She makes such an idiotic fool of herself.

But ignoring the Greeny swill and back to the topic which the Greeny drongo can't understand.

Australia will continue to supply India and China's demand for coal to manufacture goods that we import.

Must be right because Albo said so.



Global coal demand to remain stable through 2024: IEA
Author Taylor Kuykendall  17 Dec 2019 | 17:41 UTC Charlottesville | Virginia


CHINA, ALONG WITH OTHER COUNTRIES, DOES NOT ACCEPT THE ARGUMENT THAT IT SHOULD LOWER ITS RELIANCE ON COAL. INSTEAD, ITS LONG-TERM COAL CONSUMPTION IS FORECAST TO RISE.

HIGHLIGHTS
Chinese policy to have largest impact
Indian coal growth pegged at 4.6% through 2024

Charlottesville, Virginia — Global coal power generation is expected to decline in 2019, but that is unlikely the start of a lasting trend as demand for the fuel will remain stable due to rising appetite in India and other Asian countries offsetting declines in the US and Europe, the International Energy Agency said in its latest coal markets analysis Tuesday.

Coal miners in the US and Colombia will likely struggle due to the collapse of EU coal imports and competition from Russian producers as investments in coal mining assets face strong headwinds.

Chinese coal demand, which accounts for roughly half of the world's coal consumption, is expected to increase slightly and then plateau around 2022, but the forecast demand from the country is sensitive to potential future policy measures, the IEA said.

Ultimately, the IEA's coal demand forecast changed little from the previous year, the organization noted. While a "combination of unusual circumstances" appears to have led to the largest-ever drop in coal power generation in 2019, that decline in coal consumption is within a range of annual fluctuations that would imply that global demand will remain broadly stable over the course of the next decade, the report stated.

Global coal use rose 1.1% in 2018 as the fuel maintained its position as the largest power source in the world with a 38% share, the IEA reported. Coal mine production rose 3.3% in 2018 as four of the world's six largest coal-producing countries increased their output.

Russia, India and Indonesia each recorded record amounts of coal production in 2018. Average coal prices in 2018 were about 60% higher than in 2016.

"Stronger-than-expected climate policies targeting coal are probably the main factor that could affect coal demand. Lower natural gas prices could also change our forecast, as well as slower economic growth," the report stated, adding: "China will ultimately determine global coal trends through 2024 and beyond since it currently accounts for half of global consumption."

Particularly in the US and Europe, the natural gas sector continues to pressure coal generation due to lower costs. At the same time, renewable energy resources are becoming increasingly competitive compared with fossil fuels, the IEA said.

POOR INVESTOR SENTIMENT
Weakness in those markets is impacting investor sentiment around the industry. Focused primarily on US-based coal companies, Seaport Global Securities analyst Mark Levin wrote in a December 16 note to investors that there is not much investor interest in coal mined for power generation.

"This isn't to say things can't change for the better in 2020. It's just that so many investors are having a hard time understanding why they would," Levin wrote, adding: "While some might argue the lion's share of the equity damage has already been done to thermal names and that sentiment is so bad that almost any incremental news has a better chance of being positive than negative, we suspect most investors will continue to stay away from steam coal-centric names in early 2020 unless natural gas or seaborne utility coal prices give them a reason to change course."

Several nongovernmental organizations, such as insurers and financial institutions, are increasingly distancing themselves from the carbon-intensive coal industry. While many of the early activist campaigns against coal centered on European and US-based companies, those efforts are pivoting to other countries as well. Such efforts are compounding coal's struggle against challenging market and policy environments.

"Together, these factors are shrinking the role of coal power generation in advanced economies," the IEA report stated. "These shifts have raised expectations once again that demand for coal is about to collapse. However, global coal demand has rebounded since 2017. Although it will probably decline in 2019, we expect it to remain broadly steady thereafter through 2024," the IEA added.

IEA expects India to see the highest growth in coal demand of any country. The nation's growing economy and focus on building out its infrastructure could support a 4.6% annual growth in coal demand through 2024, the IEA projected. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Indonesia will drive a 5% annual increase in coal demand from Southeast Asia, based on the IEA's forecast.

https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/mark ... h-2024-iea

[Juliar]

Coal Power generation down a bit but coal industrial use up.




Drop in coal demand for power forecast to be offset by rising industrial needs
27 NOVEMBER 2019 - 08:39 CLYDE RUSSELL

Largest decline in coal-fired generation on record predicted in report, the result of falling output at power plants in Europe and the US


Picture: 123RF/ARTUR NYK

Launceston, Australia — A record drop in the amount of electricity generated from coal is likely this year, something that sounds positive for efforts to mitigate climate change, but things are seldom that simple.

Global electricity from coal-fired power plants will drop 3%, or 300 terawatt hours, this year, according to an article by three power sector and climate change analysts published on Monday in the online journal Carbon Brief.

This would be the largest decline in coal-fired generation on record and is the result of falling output at power plants in Europe and the US, the report reads.

It also reads that coal-fired generation in India will drop in 2019 for the first time in “at least three decades”, while China’s generation will stabilise.

China and India are significant for the coal-fired power market as these two countries are the world’s largest producers, consumers and importers of the fuel that is blamed for being a major contributor to rising carbon emissions in the earth’s atmosphere.

The Carbon Brief report reads it is likely that global emissions growth will slow in 2019.

But while these statistics look positive from a climate change perspective, there are other equally credible numbers that point to growing industrial demand for the fuel and illustrate the scale of the challenge.

Global seaborne trade in coal, both thermal for use in power plants and coking used for steelmaking, is likely to rise this year after three years of being effectively flat.

Coal is also still largely a China and India story, as these two countries account for about 60% of the global electricity generated using the fuel

In the first 10 months of 2019 global seaborne coal flows were 1.19-billion tons, according to vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Refinitiv.

Assuming the last two months show similar volumes, it puts the expected 2019 total about 1.43-billion tons.

From 2016 to 2018 global seaborne volumes were 1.32-billion tons in each of the three years, meaning this year is on track for an increase of about 8.3%.

Coal is also still largely a China and India story, as these two countries account for about 60% of the global electricity generated using the fuel.

China’s domestic production of coal is on track to rise this year, having gained 4.5% in 3.06-billion tons in the first 10 months of the year, compared with the same period in 2018.

China’s imports are also set to be the strongest since 2013 and may exceed 300-million tons, given that 276.2-million tonnes were imported in the first 10 months of the year, a gain of 9.6% on the same period in 2018.

Coal India woes

Coal India, the state-owned producer that dominates the country’s output, has struggled so far this year, having experienced flooding and labour unrest.

In the first seven months of the fiscal year that started in April, Coal India has produced 280.36-million tons, down 8.5% from the same period last year.

The world’s largest coal mining company did manage to increase output in October from September’s six-year low, but the 39.35-million tons produced was still down 20.9% from the same month last year, according to data on the company’s website.

The company is unlikely to make its target of 650-million tons for the fiscal year to end March 2020, but it may manage to match the 606-million tons it produced in the year to March 2019.

While India’s imports have tapered off in recent months, it’s likely that the country will bring in as much in 2019 as it did in 2018.

Imports in the first 10 months of the year were 169.7-million tons, according to Refinitiv data, putting them on track to at least match, and possibly exceed the 2018 total of 195.3-million tons.

While coal used for power generation is likely to decline in 2019, the use of the fuel for industries such as cement and ceramics, as well as for steel, is likely to have increased.

It’s estimated that about 40-million tons, or about 20%, of India’s coal imports are now for industries such as cement, while about 50-million tons is imported for steelmaking.

The risk for those policymakers and climate activists seeking a rapid end to the use of coal is that gains in reducing the use of the fuel for electricity are undermined by increases in industrial demand.

Reuters

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opini ... ial-needs/

[Juliar]

Them Sth Africans know the Greenies are lying about their Climate Change SCAM.



S.Africa energy minister vows to keep burning coal for power
DECEMBER 18, 2019 / 2:16 AM / 2 DAYS AGO


Johannesburg Coal Power

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 17 (Reuters) - South Africa’s energy minister vowed on Tuesday to keep burning coal to generate electricity, even as the continent’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter adopts more renewable energy sources to meet its commitments on tackling climate change.

Africa’s most industrialised economy is also grappling with a power crisis that has hurt growth, temporarily shut down mining operations and threatened its remaining investment grade rating.

“As much as we intend to utilise the sun and wind resources we have, we intend to continue to use our fossil fuel resources, and to increase investment in ... clean coal technologies,” Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe told delegates at a local launch of the IEA Coal 2019 report.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) report, which predicted that global coal demand would remain stable until 2024, as growth in Asia offsets weaker Western demand, was published on Tuesday.

The government had already shrunk its dependence on coal for power generation to 75%, from 90% a few years ago, he said, adding that the government had “given renewables the biggest growth allocation”, in future projects.

“South Africa is a major producer of coal,” Mantashe added. “Entire towns and settlements exist around coal mining areas, and as such, our focus must be on how to mitigate the impact of coal sector downscaling.”

The government’s long term power plan, released in October, provides for 1,500 megawatts (MW) of new coal power, 2,500 MW of hydropower, 6,000 MW from photovoltaic, 14,400 MW from wind and 3,000 MW from natural gas.

The plan aims to relieve the country’s frequent, crippling power shortages which worsened last week when heavy rains caused outages at its Medupi coal fire power plant and at open pit coal mines.

Such plants make South Africa one of the world’s top 20 emitters of carbon dioxide, a cause of controversy at home.

“Coal no longer makes sense,” the Mail & Guardian weekly wrote in its latest edition, ahead of the IEA launch. “It pollutes rivers and fills our lungs with poison ... It drives the climate crisis, which is already destroying communities.”

Mantanshe told delegates in Johannesburg he would not be swayed by anti-coal activists.

“I listen to them, but their story is not the only story in town,” he said. “We are not consumed by denialism when it comes to climate change ... (but) We must ensure a balanced approach.” (Reporting by Naledi Mashishi and Kara ven der Berg, Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

https://uk.reuters.com/article/climate- ... KL8N28R4C4

[BigP]