Factbox: Energy crisis revives coal demand and production

VERBUND AG

19/10/2022 07:56

Oct 18 (Reuters) - High natural gas prices and global
competition for the fuel have driven more demand for thermal
coal for power generation this year as countries try to wean
themselves off Russian energy supplies and seek relatively
cheaper alternatives. 
    Some countries are reopening mothballed coal plants to
secure enough energy for this winter, while others are boosting
production as they seek considerable profits from exports.
    Here are some of the revived coal projects and government
plans on coal worldwide: 
    EUROPE
    Austria - The government agreed with utility Verbund
 VERB.VI  in June to convert a gas-fired power plant to coal in
preparation for an energy emergency.
    Bosnia and Herzegovina endorsed in March a plan to extend
the lifespan of Tuzla 4 and Kakanj 5 coal-fired thermal power
plants by the end of 2023.
    Denmark - The government in October ordered Orsted
 ORSTED.CO  to continue and resume operations at three of its
oil and coal-fired power stations to ensure electricity supply.
Two of them were due to be decommissioned on March 31, 2023.
    Finland - Finnish utility Fortum  FORTUM.HE  plans to add
560 megawatt (MW) of capacity to the Nordic power market after
October by reactivating an idle coal-fired power plant on the
country's west coast.
    France - The Emile Huchet coal power plant restarted in
early October, only six months after it closed, according to
local media.
    Germany - Germany's cabinet passed at the end of September
two decrees to prolong the operation of sizeable hard coal-fired
power plants and bring back idled brown coal capacity to boost
supply and network reserves. 
    The Economy Ministry said bringing back coal-fired power
plants into the mix could add up to 10 gigawatts of capacity in
case of a critical gas supply situation.
    Greece - National gas grid operator DESFA said in September
Greece will keep seven coal-fired plants running for longer than
previously planned, citing the current energy crisis.
    Italy - Among a raft of measures to help cut gas
consumption, Italy plans to increase output from existing
coal-fired and oil-fired power plants.
    Netherlands - Dutch energy minister Rob Jetten said in June
the Netherlands will remove a production cap at coal-fired
energy plants to preserve gas.
    North Macedonia has delayed the closure of its coal-fired
power plants Bitola and Oslomej to 2030 and plans to open two
new coal mines to supply power stations. 
    Poland - The country suspended in September a ban on the use
of lignite — the most polluting type of coal — for heating homes
until April 2023 to ease the supply crisis. In June, it said it
plans to "increase thermal coal production from existing mines
this year maximum by 1.5 million tonnes".
    Serbia is increasing coal production due to insufficient
rain for hydro-electric plants. Serbia's Elektroprivreda Srbije
(EPS) expects a new unit at its Kostolac power plant to come
online by 2023, according to local sources.
    Spain - The ministry for the ecological transition requested
in May the delay of Endesa's As Pontes coal power station
closure. In September, it authorised the conditional closure of
two of the plant's four groups, "taking into account the
reinforcement of power availability variables".
    UK - Britain's National Grid  NG.L  signed contracts with
power generators Drax Group  DRX.L  and EDF's  EDF.PA  EDF
Energy to extend the life of four coal-fired power units at two
plants. 
    The available capacity will only be used a last resort to
ensure security of supply if needed. Germany's Uniper  UN01.DE 
said in September it would prolong the lifespan of its Ratcliffe
coal power station.
    Ukraine - Although most of Ukraine's mines are in the Donbas
region, seized by pro-Russian forces, the country is planning to
increase domestic stocks of thermal coal from 2 million tonnes
to 3 million tonnes ahead of winter. 
    (** Note that Ukraine's government has stopped releasing
coal production data since the start of the war).
    AFRICA
    Botswana - The government has estimated that demand from
Europe could reach more than 50,000 tonnes a month.
    South Africa -  European countries, scrambling to secure
alternatives to Russian coal, imported 40% more coal from South
Africa's main export hub in the first five months of this year
than over the whole of 2021, figures obtained by Reuters showed.
    Tanzania expects coal exports to double this year to around
696,773 tonnes, the country's Mining Commission told Reuters,
while production is expected to increase by 50% to about 1.365
million tonnes.
    ASIA & OCEANIA
    Australia - Australian resources and energy export earnings
are forecast to jump 7% to a record A$450 billion ($290 billion)
this fiscal year. Australian coal has increasingly headed to
Europe instead of India since mid-2022 after European sanctions
were imposed on Russian coal over its invasion of Ukraine.
    China - Beijing approved 15 gigawatts of new coal-fired
power capacity and another 30 million tonnes of coal-based
iron-making capacity in the first half of this year.
    Research from Greenpeace East Asia shows that provincial
governments across China approved plans to add a total 8.63
gigawatts of new coal power plants in the first quarter of 2022
alone.
    Indonesia - The world's biggest exporter of coal has said it
can increase output to help meet demand from countries that have
lost supplies from Russia. 
    AMERICAS
    Colombia - The government said this summer it could increase
coal and petroleum production as it steps up to fill the void
created by sanctions against Russia.
    United States - Several U.S. states, including Indiana,
Wisconsin, New Mexico and Nebraska, have announced the delay of
planned closures of their coal-fired plants, until as late as
2025, citing concerns about energy shortages among other issues.
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INSIGHT-Coal rush! Energy crisis fires global hunt for polluting
fuel     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2ZN5IM
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 (Reporting by Dina Kartit; Editing by Nina Chestney and Jan
Harvey)
 ((Dina.Kartit@thomsonreuters.com;))