Owners of 'advanced energy' coal power plants will be stuck with inefficient white elephants.
The coal industry has stepped up an advertising campaign against what it has branded a "War on Coal".The goal is to encourage the construction of coal-fired power plants. Each new coal-fired power plant will lock-in buyers for thermal coal for the next 30 to 40 years.
What is good for coal mining companies is not so good for the energy industry and its customers: the businesses and families who pay energy bills.
This coal industry advertising campaign talks-up new coal-fired power plants by calling them "advanced energy".
In reality these "advanced energy" coal-fired power plants suffer from very limited efficiency. Less than half of the energy in coal is converted to usable electricity.
@WWF files complaint vs @peabodyenergy for false campaign to promote so-called clean #coal in developing nations. http://t.co/VS96bPeGlU
— Tom Kenis (@tomkenis) May 4, 2014
US mining lobby ads criticized as misleading http://t.co/9g5bvLmQQd #coal
— Rising Tide NA (@RisingTideNA) May 28, 2014
Coal mining companies wrote of more efficient energy generation on its promotional web site "Coal Can Do That" in February 2009:
Coal-to-Gas is an Off-the-Shelf Energy Solution, by Frank Clemente.
By 17 March 2014 the coal lobby removed the web pages for its promotional web site "Coal Can Do That" but a copy of this article by Frank Clemente was cached by Google as it existed on 23 February 2014.
By 2 April 2014 the coal lobby removed the cached copy of the web pages for "Coal Can Do That".
You may still read a copy of the "Coal Can Do That" article "Coal-to-Gas is Off-the-Shelf Energy Solution" from February 2009 by Dr. Frank Clemente.
This "War on Coal" campaign now talks-down this far better power generating technology that is more efficient. At least 60 percent of the energy in fuel is converted to usable electricity. When used for "Combined Heat and Power" systems over 90 percent of the energy in fuel is delivered to customers.
.@sunlorrie Suddenly, coal industry is rejecting coal to natural gas on environment concerns. Admits economics good: http://t.co/D4bNGGRS1X
— Askgerbil Now (@Askgerbil) April 20, 2014
.@EINPowerPlants Gas power plants already at 60 percent efficiency. Urgency only needed for redesign of #coal-to-gas: http://t.co/PbgPBkCSNX
— Askgerbil Now (@Askgerbil) June 20, 2014
This truly advanced energy technology gives owners the flexibility to buy whatever fuel is cheapest from time to time. It uses flexible, proven modules. Unlike coal-fired power stations these modules may be upgraded to increase productivity at any time:
- A fuel processing module that converts any carbon-containing raw material (coal, natural gas, crop waste, etc) into hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
- A power generating module (gas turbine, Combined Heat and Power internal combustion engine, fuel cell...)
- The fuel processing plant can grow its market by selling hydrogen and carbon dioxide to fertiliser manufacturers and other chemical industries.
- The fuel processing plant can be upgraded to boost its efficiency independently of the power generators or chemical industries that buy its products. For instance:
- the CSIRO is actively developing hydrogen separation membranes for continually cutting the cost of producing hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
- the CSIRO has commercialised SolarGas - employing concentrated solar thermal energy to decompose carbon-containing fuel sources into hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
Update, 6 February 2017
Integrated coal Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) is the next-generation in thermal power
.@fidahunzai88 Coal-fired power plants not the most efficient way to use coal resources. South Korea moving to IGCC https://t.co/PyD70epxnD— Askgerbil Now (@Askgerbil) February 3, 2017
Utilities request right to dismantle their coal-fired plants in Spain because of low profitability. https://t.co/G2JLMYEpQd #ActOnClimate— Askgerbil Now (@Askgerbil) February 2, 2017
COAL DETHRONED
Coal is no longer the cheapest form of energy in America.Innovation by natural gas turbine manufacturers continues to increase efficiency of natural gas power plants. Coal-fired power plants are no longer competitive.
Southern Company’s President and CEO Tom Fanning:
"We’re shutting a 550-megawatt coal plant and replacing it with a 2,500-megawatt natural gas plant."Read more at Georgia Trend in Energizing The South
#Coal miner donates $700k to Libs, gets mine expansion. Makes me sick. We need #cleanpolitics http://t.co/PIfED60Fd4 #auspol #nswpol
— Jack Gough (@jgough87) May 9, 2014
Further reading -
The "Coal Can Do That" article "Coal-to-Gas is Off-the-Shelf Energy Solution" from February 2009 by Dr. Frank Clemente.
Coal - not dead yet, but outlook bleak
The coal lobby scores an own goal
Some reasons for making a decision to NOT build a new coal-fired power plant
Zero emission coal is here now - about Latrobe Fertilisers' project
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