Europe Burns Coal Fastest Since 2006 in Boost for U.S.

[dipsydoodle]

Europe is burning coal at the fastest pace since 2006, as surging imports from U.S. producers such as Arch Coal Inc. (ACI) helped cut prices 27 percent in a year and benefited European utilities including EON AG.

Demand for coal, the dirtiest fuel for making electricity, grew 3.3 percent last year in Europe while sales of less- polluting natural gas fell 2.1 percent, the steepest drop since 2009, according to a BP Plc report. Germany’s EON and RWE AG (RWE), the biggest utilities in Europe’s largest power market, are considering shutting unprofitable gas-fired plants even as Chancellor Angela Merkel promotes gas to replace nuclear energy.

Europe’s higher coal use defies its policies to penalize carbon emissions and is based on profit margins climbing to a two-and-a-half year high for coal-burning power stations, data compiled by Bloomberg Industries show. Cheaper coal was made possible partly by a 49 percent jump in first-quarter imports from the U.S., Energy Information Administration data show.

“Coal will continue to remain on the money in Europe because it’s more competitive to burn than gas,” said Trevor Sikorski, an analyst at Barclays Plc in London. “More and more of the coal to Europe will come from the U.S. where just the opposite is happening.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-02/europe-burns-coal-fastest-since-2006-in-boost-for-u-s-energy.html

[NickB79]

1. But, but, the German solar panels!

And the Dutch wind turbines! And the closed nuclear power plants! How can this be?

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Ironically, more coal is being burnt, because Europe is cleaning up her act

(Well, that and the economic collapse.)

Less fuel is being burned, and less carbon is being emitted, so the price for carbon permits has dropped dramatically. So, power generators can afford to burn dirtier fuel. (However, they are still dropping their overall emissions.)


According to this industry forecast, Europe is the wrong place to try to sell coal (long term.)

http://www.power-eng.com/news/2012/06/29/frost-sullivan-opportunities-in-emerging-economies-to-offset-declining-prospects-for-coal-fired-powe.html

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Frost & Sullivan: Opportunities in Emerging Economies to Offset Declining Prospects for Coal-Fired Power across Mature Geographies; Global demand for coal-fired power generation will be fuelled primarily by China and India[/font]

06/29/2012

[font size=3]Over the next 25 years, the world will become significantly more dependent on electricity produced from various sources, including coal, to meet its energy needs. Global electricity generation is expected to grow from 21,224 Terawatt hours (TWh) in 2010 to 33,370 TWh in 2030. Coal will continue to hold an increasing share in the energy mix of emerging countries since it is one of the most affordable sources of energy with abundant reserves across the world and particular concentration in the United States, Russia, China, Australia and India.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan ( http://www.energy.frost.com ), Global Prospects for Coal-Fired Power Generation, finds that China is expected to have unprecedented growth with about 945 GW and 1,040 GW of total coal-fired capacity in 2020 and 2030, respectively. India, on the other hand, will have 201 GW and 267 GW of coal capacity in 2020 and 2030, respectively. Domestic power demand and capacity shortages will be the key market drivers for both countries.

"North America and the European Union will continue to be key markets for coal due to large units of capacity decommissioning, which means large MW capacity orders as replacements," noted Frost & Sullivan Industry Director Harald Thaler. "However, prospects for coal-fired power generation in Europe and North America are currently looking bleak due to the threat of tougher regulations, uncertainties over future carbon prices and the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS), rising engineering procurement and construction (EPC) costs, and low gas prices."

These factors deter investors from investing in new plants across North America and the EU. In Asia, the opposite trend can be observed, with massive investments continuing in new plants with substantial potential for major upgrades to existing plants, some of which are less than a decade old. The coal boom in Asia is projected to continue for the next decade.

…[/font][/font]

[Nihil]

3. "Europe is the wrong place to try to sell coal (long term.)"

Since when did the fossil fuel companies ever contemplate the long term?