The Coal Age Nears Its End

[OKIsItJustMe]

[font face=Times, Serif]DECEMBER 23, 2011
[font size=5]The Coal Age Nears Its End [/font]

BY REBECCA SMITH

[font size=3]After burning coal to light up Cincinnati for six decades, the Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station will go dark soon—a fate that will be shared by dozens of aging coal-fired power plants across the U.S. in coming years.

Their owners cite a raft of new air-pollution regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, including a rule released Wednesday that limits mercury and other emissions, for the shut-downs.

But energy experts say there is an even bigger reason coal plants are losing out: cheap and abundant natural gas, which is booming thanks to a surge in production from shale-rock formations in the ...[/font][/font]

[NickB79]

1. The title is a bit misleading, since China's Coal Age shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. nt

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. 4th day of protest at China coal plant

[font face=Times, Serif][font size=5]4th day of protest at China coal plant[/font]

Published: Dec. 23, 2011 at 12:52 PM

[font size=3]HAIMEN, China, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Police fired tear gas Friday at protesters who gathered in southern China for the fourth day of demonstrations over a coal power plant in Haimen.

The demonstrators were also seeking the release of villagers who were detained during earlier protests, CNN reported.

Thousands of protesters gathered at the entrance of a local highway, said Zheng, a local resident. Police blocked the highway several days ago and have since maintained a heavy presence in the area.

Protests began Tuesday after a group of residents petitioned the local government for the removal of an existing coal power plant and the end to construction of a second plant.[/font][/font]

[Bob Wallace]

3. Economics and pollution operate the same way in China...

China is not going to build coal if they find renewables more affordable and less polluting.

The end to coal will not be instantaneous, it will start with the closing of the least efficient, most polluting plants and replacing them with something better.

China has already closed several thousand inefficient coal plants. They understand economics and pollution.

China is cranking up their wind and solar installations.

[NickB79]

14. The problem is that China is replacing old coal-fired plants with new coal-fired plants

And their current projections call for 15 GW of solar and 100 GW of wind installed by 2015. Currently they have 5 GW of solar and 45 GW of wind. That increase won't even be enough to meet the projected increase in electrical demand, much less allow them to start closing coal plants.

It will take decades for China to wean itself off of coal, even with cheaper wind and solar being developed, and we don't have decades left to wait.

[Kolesar]

15. Better switch off your PC and all electrical loads, ASAP!

:bye:

[joshcryer]

16. Being pro-environment is not a Luddite view.

[joshcryer]

17. The last 5 years have been a pretty big deal for Chinese coal, they're dropping back to around...

...15 GW a year if I recall correctly. It's still a massive buildout (one 500 MW coal plant every two weeks), but it's much more sane than the 55 GW that they built out every year for the past 5 years. They're still on target to almost double their coal by 2030 at which time their coal will be peaking.

[OnlinePoker]

5. DU rules...you have to use the headline as published. n/t

[kristopher]

6. That is only on LBN.

[wtmusic]

4. Out of the fire and into the pan.

Natural gas is better than coal - but not good enough.

[Bob Wallace]

7. That I can agree with...

But reality is, big utility companies are using natural gas rather than convert the worst of their coal plants. A small gain.

As they get more familiar with wind and as the price of solar falls gas generation will get pushed aside. The pencil pushers will see to that.

[joshcryer]

8. Except, that natural gas is almost exclusively new fracking gas.

It's not conventional gas.

[kristopher]

9. Are you talking about shale gas?

Fracking isn't new. It has been used to open most of the "conventional gas" wells that we have.

As I understand it the "big boom" we've seen since the country was raped by Cheney is in using the process to access "shale gas" - soft and layered as it is it behaves differently than the hard rock fracking was developed to break through.

If that is what you are talking about shale gas is only about 15% of the supply. However if we keep pushing its development it will rise to about 50% of supply by 2030 or so.

Do you think it is possible to ban fracking? I would support that completely but given the current state of the EPAs review process I can't see any way to make a case in todays Congressional mix. The EPA should be finished the studies launched since Obama took office just about the time of the elections or shortly after. We need to make sure that Dems control both Houses of Congress if we want that to be the moment for action.

[joshcryer]

10. Shale gas, yes, or just "unconventional":

Conventional has peaked quite a bit ago.

Fracking should be banned near any large aquifer or watershed, imo.

[kristopher]

11. If I had the authority I would ban shale gas completely until

...the science is in and we know what we are dealing with. And while I trust the EPA generally, I'd be much more comfortable with the science being done under an EPA administered by a Dem. President.

[joshcryer]

12. How would you deal with the needed conventional gas for electricity?

I think efficiency standards could help with that but that takes time to roll out.

[kristopher]

13. There would be a sharp increase in natgas prices.

With current trends the halt would promote energy efficiency and renewables. Since I'm actually proposing a moratorium rather than an outright ban, until there is a permanent decision after the EPA studies are completed I don't think it would have much of an impact on coal although there might be an uptick. I'd be willing to risk that if the externalities of the practice are as bad as the press reports are claiming.

I'm not at all convinced they are, but I don't mind a bit playing it safe until we know for sure. If shale gas is a threat to our water supply we will simply have to deal with the problems associated with more expensive natural gas.

I'd probably collapse the economy, but you never really know, do you?