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Protest at the Legislative Building in Olympia, Washington. Ted Nation an activist for several decades beside protest sign
The purpose of fossil fuel phase-out is to reduce the negative
externalities
that use of fossil fuels cause. Negative externalities refer to the
costs a certain activity has over people who did not choose to incur in
them. A direct negative externality from fossil fuels' use is
air pollution, and an indirect negative externality are
mining accidents, that happen as a consequence of the extraction of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel burning contributes to
climate change, as it releases
greenhouse gas emissions.
Fossil fuels
Coal
Coal consumption trends 1980–2012 in the top five coal-consuming countries (US EIA)
Coal is one of the largest sources of energy, supplying 28.6% percent of the world's primary energy in 2014 (equivalent to 3,917
Mtoe) according to the
International Energy Agency. Coal combustion accounted for 14,863 Mt of CO
2 emissions in 2014, which is equivalent to a 45.9% of fossil fuel emissions from combustion (excluding non-energy emissions).
To decrease carbon emissions and thus possibly stop extreme climate change, some have called for coal to be phased out.
Climatologist James E. Hansen said "We need a moratorium on coal
now...with phase-out of existing plants over the next two decades." According to a study published in
Science in 2017, coal has to be phased-out globally by about 2030, if the agreed 2 °C target is taken seriously.
Some nations have decreased their coal consumption thus far in
the 21st century, the greatest reductions being in the United States
(coal consumption reduced by 176 million metric tons per year over the
period 2000–2012), Canada (reduced by 21 million tons per year) and
Spain (20 million tons per year). Other nations have increased their
coal consumption in the same period, led by China (increased 2,263
million metric tons per year in the period 2000–2012), India (increased
367 million tons per year), and South Korea (59 million tons per year).
Worldwide, coal consumption increased 60% during the period 2000–2012. As of 2012, 1200 new coal power plants were reportedly being planned worldwide, most of them in China and India. In the 2011–2013 period, the
OECD
group of Western European countries has increased the use of coal,
attributed largely to the low cost of coal and the high price of
imported natural gas in Western Europe.
However, coal consumption has peaked in China in 2013 or 2014, depending
on the data used and fell in 2015 by 3.6%, even though there was a
growth of GDP of 6.9%. After smaller increases, consumption remained below the prior peak by 2017. Worldwide coal consumption peaked in 2014 and declined in 2015 and 2016.
According to
Scientific American,
the average coal plant emits more than 100 times as much radiation per
year than does a comparatively sized nuclear power plant, in the form of
fly ash.
Some like the "coal advisory board" of the IEA believe that coal
should not be phased out, considering that longer-term global economic
growth cannot be achieved without adequate and affordable energy
supplies, which will require continuing significant contributions from
fossil fuels including coal. In this viewpoint,
clean coal technology could reduce
greenhouse gas emissions compatible with a low-emissions future. Some environmentalists and climatologists support a phase-out and criticise clean coal as not a solution to
climate change. Entrepreneurs promote improved regulations and modernised technology.
Sometimes coal is replaced by natural gas, which has lower carbon
emissions and produces less pollutants. However natural gas is also a
fossil fuel, so a switch from coal to natural gas does not contribute to
a fossil fuel phase-out.
As of October 2018, 28 national governments, 19 sub-national governments and 28 organisations had become members of the
Powering Past Coal Alliance, each making a declaration to advance the transition away from unabated coal power generation.
Oil
Natural gas
Although natural gas has about half the carbon intensity of coal it is also the single largest source of
atmospheric methane
in the United States. It is seen by many as a temporary "bridge fuel"
to replace coal, but in turn to be replaced by renewable sources.
However this "bridge fuel" is likely to significantly extend the use of
fossil fuel as the average plant life is 35 years. Gas consumption has tripled since 1971, and by 2015 it was generating half as much electricity as coal.
Since the consumption of gas is expected to grow an additional 10% by
2040, the phase out is likely to be many years in the future.
Basis
The basis of phasing-out fossil fuels consists mainly of the projected lower cost of renewable sources of energy, but the avoidance of risks in health and
mitigation of global warming are also important considerations.
Health
Using computer modeling he developed over 20 years,
Mark Z. Jacobson has found that
carbonaceous fuel
soot emissions
(which lead to respiratory illness, heart disease, and asthma) have
resulted in 1.5 million premature deaths each year, mostly in the
developing world where the non-fossil fuels wood and animal dung are
used for cooking. Jacobson has also said that soot from diesel engines,
coal-fired power plants, and burning wood is a "bigger cause of global
warming than previously thought, and is the major cause of the rapid
melting of the Arctic's sea ice".
In 2011, new evidence has emerged that there are considerable
risks associated with traditional energy sources, and that major changes
to the mix of energy technologies are needed:
Several mining tragedies globally
have underscored the human toll of the coal supply chain. New EPA
initiatives targeting air toxics, coal ash, and effluent releases
highlight the environmental impacts of coal and the cost of addressing
them with control technologies. The use of fracking in natural gas
exploration is coming under scrutiny, with evidence of groundwater
contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. Concerns are increasing
about the vast amounts of water used at coal-fired plants, particularly
in regions of the country facing water shortages.
Global warming mitigation
In 2008,
James Hansen and nine other scientists published a journal article titled "Target atmospheric CO
2: Where should humanity aim?" which calls for a complete phase-out of coal power by 2030.
More recently, Hansen has stated that continued
opposition to nuclear power threatens humanity's ability to avoid dangerous climate change.
The letter, co-authored with other climate change experts declared "If
we stay on the current path," he said, "those are the consequences we'll
be leaving to our children. The best candidate to avoid that is nuclear
power. It's ready now. We need to take advantage of it." and "Continued
opposition to nuclear power threatens humanity's ability to avoid
dangerous climate change."
Also in 2008, Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen published a
peer-reviewed scientific study analyzing the effect of a coal phase-out
on atmospheric
carbon dioxide (CO
2) levels.
Their baseline mitigation scenario was a phaseout of global coal
emissions by 2050. The authors describe the scenario as follows:
The second scenario, labeled Coal Phase-out, is meant to approximate a situation in which developed countries freeze their CO2
emissions from coal by 2012 and a decade later developing countries
similarly halt increases in coal emissions. Between 2025 and 2050 it is
assumed that both developed and developing countries will linearly
phase out emissions of CO2 from coal usage. Thus in Coal Phase-out we have global CO2
emissions from coal increasing 2% per year until 2012, 1% per year
growth of coal emissions between 2013 and 2022, flat coal emissions for
2023–2025, and finally a linear decrease to zero CO2
emissions from coal in 2050. These rates refer to emissions to the
atmosphere and do not constrain consumption of coal, provided the CO2 is captured and sequestered. Oil and gas emissions are assumed to be the same as in the BAU [business as usual] scenario.
Kharecha and Hansen also consider three other mitigation scenarios,
all with the same coal phase-out schedule but each making different
assumptions about the size of oil and gas reserves and the speed at
which they are depleted. Under the Business as Usual scenario,
atmospheric CO
2 peaks at 563 parts per million (ppm) in the year 2100. Under the four coal phase-out scenarios, atmospheric CO
2
peaks at 422-446 ppm between 2045 and 2060 and declines thereafter. The
key implications of the study are as follows: a phase-out of coal
emissions is the most important remedy for mitigating human-induced
global warming; actions should be taken toward limiting or stretching
out the use of conventional oil and gas; and strict emissions-based
constraints are needed for future use of unconventional fossil fuels
such as
methane hydrates and
tar sands.
Others
The
impulse of renewable energy can create jobs through the construction of
new power plants and the manufacturing of the equipment that they need,
as could be seen in the case of Germany and the wind power industry.
Studies about fossil fuel phase-out
In the
Greenpeace and EREC's Energy (R)evolution scenario, the world would eliminate all fossil fuel use by 2090.
In December 2015,
Greenpeace and
Climate Action Network Europe
released a report highlighting the need for an active phase-out of
coal-fired generation across Europe. Their analysis derived from a
database of 280 coal plants and included emissions data from official EU
registries.
A September 2016 report by Oil Change International, concludes
that the carbon emissions embedded in the coal, oil, and gas in
currently working mines and fields, assuming that these run to the end
of their working lifetimes, will take the world to just beyond the 2 °C
limit contained in the 2015
Paris Agreement and even further from the 1.5 °C goal.
The report observes that "one of the most powerful climate policy
levers is also the simplest: stop digging for more fossil fuels".
In October 2016, the
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and 11 other
NGOs
released a report on the impact of building new coal-fired power plants
in countries where a significant proportion of the population lacks
access to electricity. The report concludes that, on the whole,
building coal-fired power plants does little to help the poor and may
make them poorer. Moreover, wind and solar generation are beginning to
challenge coal on cost.
A 2018 study in Nature Energy, suggests that 10 countries in
Europe could completely phase out coal-fired electricity generation with
their current infrastructure, whilst the United States and Russia could
phase out at least 30%.
Challenges of fossil fuel phase-out
The
phase-out of fossil fuels involves many challenges, and one of them is
the reliance that currently the world has on them. In 2014, fossil fuels
provided 81.1% of the
primary energy consumption
of the world, with approximately 11,109 Mtoe. This number is composed
by 4,287 Mtoe of oil consumption; 3,918 Mtoe of coal consumption, and
2,904 Mtoe of natural gas consumption.
Fossil fuel phase-out can lead to an increment in electricity
prices, because of the new investments needed to replace their share in
the electricity mix with alternative energy sources. Another cause to increasing electricity price comes from the need to import the electricity that can't be generated nationally.
Another impact of a phase-out of fossil fuels is in the
employment. In the case of employments in the fossil fuel industry, a
phase-out is logically undesired, therefore, people in the industry will
usually oppose any measures that put their industries under scrutiny.
Endre Tvinnereim and Elisabeth Ivarsflaten studied the relationship
between employment in the fossil fuel industry with the support to
climate change policies. They proposed that one opportunity for
displaced drilling employments in the fossil fuel industry could be in
the geothermal energy industry. This was suggested as a result of their
conclusion: people and companies in the fossil fuel industry will likely
oppose measures that endanger their employments, unless they have other
stronger alternatives.
This can be extrapolated to political interests, that can push against
the phase-out of fossil fuels initiative. One example is how the vote of
US Congress members is related to the preeminence of fossil fuel industries in their respective states.
Legislation and initiatives to phase out coal
Major economies
In 8 June 2015, several newspapers ran an article wrote that the leaders of the
Group of Seven (or G7, consisting of
Canada,
France,
Germany,
Italy,
Japan, the
United Kingdom, and the
United States) agreed to phase-out fossil fuel use by 2100,
as part of the efforts to keep global temperature increase under 2 °C.
This was done as a prelude for the United Nations Climate Change
Conference (a.k.a.
COP 21) hosted in Paris, on December of the same year.
Australia
Electricity generation from renewable sources in Australia in 2010
The
Australian Greens
party have proposed to phase out coal power stations. The NSW Greens
proposed an immediate moratorium on coal-fired power stations and want
to end all coal mining and
coal industry subsidies. The Australian Greens and the
Australian Labor Party
also oppose nuclear power. The Federal Government and Victorian State
Government want to modify existing coal-fired power stations into clean
coal power stations. The Federal Labor government extended the
mandatory renewable energy targets,
an initiative to ensure that new sources of electricity are more likely
to be from wind power, solar power and other sources of
renewable energy in Australia.
Australia
is one of the largest consumers of coal per capita, and also the
largest exporter. The proposals are strongly opposed by industry, unions and the main Opposition Party in Parliament (now forming the party in government after the September 2013 election).
Canada
In 2005, Canada annually burned 60 million tons of coal, mainly for electrical power, increasing by 15 percent annually.
In November 2016, Canada announced plans to phase-out coal-fired electricity generation by 2030.
Beginning in 2005,
Ontario,
Canada planned coal phase-out legislation. Ontario annually consumed 15 million tons of coal in large power plants to supplement nuclear power.
Nanticoke Generating Station was a major source of air pollution, and Ontario suffered "smog days" during the summer.
In 2007, Ontario's Liberal government committed to phasing out all coal
generation in the province by 2014. Premier Dalton McGuinty said, "By
2030 there will be about 1,000 more new coal-fired generating stations
built on this planet. There is only one place in the world that is
phasing out coal-fired generation and we're doing that right here in
Ontario."
The Ontario Power Authority projects that in 2014, with no coal
generation, the largest sources of electrical power in the province will
be nuclear (57 percent), hydroelectricity (25 percent), and natural gas
(11 percent). In April 2014
Ontario Canada was the first jurisdiction in North America to eliminate coal in electricity generation. The final coal plant in Ontario,
Thunder Bay Generating Station, stopped burning coal in April 2014.
China
China's exceedingly high energy demand has pushed the demand for
relatively cheap coal-fired power. Each week, another 2 GW of coal-fired
power is put online in China. Coal supplies about 80% of China's
energy needs today, and that ratio is expected to continue, even as
overall power usage grows rapidly. Serious air quality deterioration has
resulted from the massive use of coal and many Chinese cities suffer
severe smog events.
As a consequence the region of Beijing has decided to phase out all its coal-fired power generation by the end of 2015.
In 2009, China had 172 GW of installed hydro capacity the largest
in the world, producing 16% of China's electricity, the Eleventh
Five-Year Plan has set a 300 GW target for 2020. China built the world's
largest power plant of any kind, the
Three Gorges Dam.
In addition to the huge investments in coal power, China has 32 reactors under construction, the highest number in the world.
Analysis in 2016, showed that China's coal consumption appears to have peaked in 2014.
European Union
Belgium
After
the government denied a 2009 application to build a new power plant in
Antwerp, the Langerlo power station burned its last ton of coal in March
2016, ending the use of coal fired power plants in Belgium.
Denmark
As part
of their Climate policy Plan, Denmark stated that it will phase out oil
for heating purposes and coal by 2030. Additionally, their goal is to
supply a 100% of their electricity and heating needs with renewable
energy five years later (i.e. 2035).
France
On 30 December 2017, Emmanuel Macron signed a law planning the end of fossil-fuel extraction in French territories.
In December 2017, to fight against
global warming, France adopted a law banning new
fossil fuel
exploitation projects and closing current ones by 2040 in all of its
territories. France thus became the first country to programme the end
of
fossil fuel exploitation.
Germany
Hard coal mining has long been subsidized in Germany, reaching a peak of €6.7
billion in 1996 and dropping to €2.7
billion in 2005 due to falling output. These subsidies represent a burden on public finances and imply a substantial
opportunity cost, diverting funds away from other, more beneficial public investments.
In 2007, Germany announced plans to phase out hard coal-industry
subsidies by 2018, a move which is expected to end hard coal mining in
Germany. This exit is later than the EU-mandated end by 2014. Solar and wind are major sources of energy and renewable energy generation, around 15% as of December 2013, and growing. Coal is still the largest source of power in Germany.
In 2007,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
and her party agreed to legislation to phase out Germany's hard coal
mining sector. That does not mean that they support phasing out coal in
general. There were plans to build about 25 new plants in the coming
years. Most German coal power plants were built in the 1960s, and have a
low energy efficiency. Public sentiment against coal power plants is
growing and the construction or planning of some plants has been
stopped.
A number are under construction and still being built. No concrete plan
is in place to reduce coal-fired electricity generation. As of October
2015, the remaining coal plants still under planning include:
Niederaussem, Profen, and Stade. The coal plants currently under
construction include: Mannheim, Hamm D, Datteln, and Willhelmshaven.
Between 2012 and 2015, six new plants went online. All of these plants
are 600–1800
MWe.
In 2014, Germany's coal consumption dropped for the first time, having risen each year since the low during the 2009 recession.
A 2014 study, found that coal is not making a comeback in
Germany, as is sometimes claimed. Rather renewables have more than
offset the nuclear facilities that have been shut down as a result of
Germany's
nuclear phase-out (
Atomausstieg). Hard coal plants now face financial stringency as their operating hours are cut back by the market. But in contrast,
lignite-fired generation is in a safe position until the
mid-2020s unless government policies change. To phase-out coal, Germany should seek to strength the emissions trading system (
EU-ETS), consider a carbon tax, promote
energy efficiency, and strengthen the use of natural gas as a bridge fuel.
In 2016, the German government and affected
lignite power plant operators
Mibrag,
RWE, and
Vattenfall reached an understanding (
Verständigung) on the transfer of lignite power plant units into security standby (
Überführung von Braunkohlekraftwerksblöcken in die Sicherheitsbereitschaft).
As a result, eight lignite-fired power plants are to be mothballed and
later closed, with the first plant scheduled to cease operation in
October 2016 and the last in October 2019. The affected operators will
receive state compensation for foregone profits. The
European Commission has declared government plans to use €1.6
billion of public financing for this purpose to be in line with EU
state aid rules.
A 2016 study, found that the phase-out of lignite in
Lusatia (
Lausitz) by 2030 can be financed by future owner
EPH
in a manner that avoids taxpayer involvement. Instead, liabilities
covering decommissioning and land rehabilitation could be paid by EPH
directly into a foundation, perhaps run by the public company
LMBV. The study calculates the necessary provisions at €2.6
billion.
In November 2016, the German utility
STEAG announced it will be decommissioning five coal-fired generating units in
North Rhine-Westphalia and
Saarland due to low wholesale electricity prices.
A coal phase-out for Germany is implied in Germany's
Climate Action Plan 2050, environment minister
Barbara Hendricks said in an interview on 21
November
2016. "If you read the Climate Action Plan carefully, you will find
that the exit from coal-fired power generation is the immanent
consequence of the energy sector target.
... By 2030
... half of the coal-fired power production must have ended, compared to 2014", she said.
Plans to cut down the ancient
Hambach Forest to extend the
Hambach open pit mine
in 2018 have resulted in massive protests. On 5 Oct, 2018 a German
court ruled against the further destruction of the forest for mining
purposes. The ruling states, the court needs more time to reconsider the
complaint. Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, welcomed the
court's ruling. The forest is located approximately 29 km km west of the
city center of Cologne (specifically Cologne Cathedral).
Netherlands
On 22 September 2016, the Dutch parliament voted for a 55% cut in CO
2
emissions by 2030, a move which would require the closure of the
country's five coal-fired power plants. The vote is not binding on the
government however.
Spain
In October 2018, the
Sánchez government and Spanish
Labour unions settled an agreement to close ten
Spanish coal mines
at the end of 2018. The government pre-engaged to spend 250 million
Euro to pay for early retirements, occupational retraining and
structural change. In 2018, about 2.3 per cent of the electric energy
produced in Spain was produced in
coal-burning power plants.
Sweden
Sweden is constructing hydrogen-based pilot steel plant to replace coke and coal usage in steel production. Once this technology is commercialized with the
hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources (
biogas or electricity), the carbon foot print of steel production would reduce drastically.
India
Coal Production in India, with a 1959-2020 axis (appears to end at 2012)
India is the third largest consumer of coal in the world. India's
federal energy minister is planning to stop importing thermal coal by
2018.
The annual report of India's Power Ministry has a plan to grow power by
about 80 GW as part of their 11th 5-year plan, and 79% of that growth
will be in fossil fuel–fired power plants, primarily coal. India plans four new "ultra mega" coal-fired power plants as part of that growth, each 4000 MW in capacity. As of 2015,
there are six nuclear reactors under construction. In the first half of
2016, the amount of coal-fired generating capacity in pre-construction
planning in India fell by 40,000 MW, according to results released by
the Global Coal Plant Tracker.
In June 2016, India's Ministry of Power stated that no further power
plants would be required in the next three years, and "any thermal power
plant that has yet to begin construction should back off."
In cement production, carbon neutral biomass is being used to replace coal for reducing carbon foot print drastically.
New Zealand
In October 2007, the
Clark Labour government introduced a 10
year moratorium on new fossil fuel thermal power generation. The ban was limited to state-owned utilities, although an extension to the private sector was considered. The
new government under MP
John Key (
NZNP)
elected in November 2008 repealed this legislation.
South Africa
As of 2007, South Africa's power sector is the 8th highest global emitter of CO2. In 2005/2006, 77% of South Africa's energy demand was directly met by coal, and when current projects come online, this ratio will increase in the near term.
There are no plans to phase out coal-fired power plants in South
Africa, and indeed, the country is investing in building massive amounts
of new coal-fired capacity to meet power demands, as well as
modernizing the existing coal-fired plants to meet environmental
requirements.
On April 6, 2010, the World Bank approved a $3.75B loan to South
Africa to support the construction of the world's 4th largest coal-fired
plant, at Medupi.
The proposed World Bank loan includes a relatively small amount – $260 million – for wind and solar power.
Rated at 4800 GW,
Medupi Power Station would join other mammoth coal-fired power plants already in operation in the country, namely
Kendal Power Station (4100 GW),
Majuba Power Station (4100 GW), and
Matimba Power Station (4000 GW), as well as a similar-capacity
Kusile Power Station,
at 4800 GW, currently under construction. Kusile is expected to come
online in stages, starting in 2012, while Medupi is expected to first
come online in 2013, with full capacity available by 2017. These
schedules are provisional, and may change.
Since 2008, South Africa's government started funding
solar water heating
installations. As of January 2016, there have been 400 000 domestic
installations in total, with free-of-charge installation of low-pressure
solar water heaters for low-cost homes or low-income households which
have access to the electricity grid, while other installations are
subsidised.
United Kingdom
Ed Miliband (
energy secretary
from 3 October 2008 – 11 May 2010) announced that no new coal-fired
power stations will be built in Britain from 2009 onwards unless they
capture and bury at least 25% of greenhouse gases immediately and 100%
by 2025 although at the time this was a statement of intent rather than
something he was able to enforce.
Chris Huhne
(energy secretary from 12 May 2010 – 5 February 2012) has confirmed
that the legislation required to allow his office to enforce
emissions standards are proceeding.
The UK is also subject to the EU's
Large Combustion Plant Directive
covering non-CO2 emissions which is expected to bring many older plants
to a close over the next few years as they are too expensive to
upgrade.
Amber Rudd
(energy secretary from 11 May 2015) announced on 18 November 2015 that
all coal-fired power stations would close by 2025. This will not be a
complete phase out of fossil fuels because gas-fired power stations will
continue to provide some
firm power.
United States
In 2017, fossil fuels provided 81 percent of the energy consumed in the United States, down from 86 percent in 2000.
Estimated effect of a carbon tax on sources of United States electrical generation (US Energy Information Administration)
Total energy consumption in the US by source: comparing fossil fuels with nuclear and renewable energy
US electrical generation: fossil fuels vs. nuclear and renewable energy
In 2007, 154 new coal-fired plants were on the drawing board in 42 states.
By 2012, that had dropped to 15, mostly due to new rules limiting
mercury emissions, and limiting carbon emissions to 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour of electricity produced.
In July 2013, US Secretary of Energy
Ernest Moniz outlined Obama administration policy on fossil fuels:
In the last four years, we’ve more
than doubled renewable energy generation from wind and solar power.
However, coal and other fossil fuels still provide 80 percent of our
energy, 70 percent of our electricity, and will be a major part of our
energy future for decades. That’s why any serious effort to protect our
kids from the worst effects of climate change must also include
developing, demonstrating and deploying the technologies to use our
abundant fossil fuel resources as cleanly as possible.
Then-US Energy Secretary
Steven Chu and researchers for the US
National Renewable Energy Laboratory have noted that greater electrical generation by non-
dispatchable
renewables, such as wind and solar, will also increase the need for
flexible natural gas-powered generators, to supply electricity during
those times when solar and wind power are unavailable. Gas-powered generators have the ability to ramp up and down quickly to meet changing loads.
In the US, many of the fossil fuel phase-out initiatives have taken place at the state or local levels.
California electricity generation by source, 2010 (data from US EIA)
Sources of electricity generated in Maine. 2010 (US EIA)
Sources of electricity generated in Texas, 2010 (US EIA)
Sources of electricity generation in Washington state, 2010 (US EIA)
California
California's
SB 1368 created the first governmental moratorium on new coal plants in
the United States. The law was signed in September 2006 by
Republican Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
took effect for investor-owned utilities in January 2007, and took
effect for publicly owned utilities in August 2007. SB 1368 applied to
long-term investments (five years or more) by California utilities,
whether in-state or out-of-state. It set the standard for greenhouse gas
emissions at 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour, equal to
the emissions of a combined-cycle natural gas plant. This standard
created a de facto moratorium on new coal, since it could not be met
without carbon capture and sequestration.
Maine
On April 15, 2008,
Maine Governor
John E. Baldacci
signed LD 2126, "An Act To Minimize Carbon Dioxide Emissions from New
Coal-Powered Industrial and Electrical Generating Facilities in the
State." The law, which was sponsored by Rep. W. Bruce MacDonald (D-
Boothbay),
requires the Board of Environmental Protection to develop greenhouse
gas emission standards for coal gasification facilities. It also puts a
moratorium in place on building any new coal gasification facilities
until the standards are developed.
Oregon
In early
March 2016, Oregon lawmakers approved a plan to stop paying for
out-of-state coal plants by 2030 and require a 50 percent renewable
energy standard by 2040. Environmental groups such as the
American Wind Energy Association and leading Democrats praised the bill.
Texas
In 2006 a coalition of
Texas
groups organized a campaign in favor of a statewide moratorium on new
coal-fired power plants. The campaign culminated in a "Stop the Coal
Rush" mobilization, including rallying and lobbying, at the state
capital in
Austin on February 11 and 12th, 2007. Over 40 citizen groups supported the mobilization.
In January, 2007, A resolution calling for a 180-day moratorium
on new pulverized coal plants was filed in the Texas Legislature by
State Rep.
Charles "Doc" Anderson (R-Waco) as House Concurrent Resolution 43. The resolution was left pending in committee. On December 4, 2007, Rep. Anderson announced his support for two proposed
integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) coal plants proposed by
Luminant (formerly TXU).
Washington state
Washington
has followed the same approach as California, prohibiting coal plants
whose emissions would exceed those of natural gas plants. Substitute
Senate Bill 6001 (SSB 6001), signed on May 3, 2007, by Governor
Christine Gregoire, enacted the standard. As a result of SSB 6001, the
Pacific Mountain Energy Center in Kalama was rejected by the state. However, a new plant proposal, the
Wallula Energy Resource Center,
shows the limits of the "natural gas equivalency" approach as a means
of prohibiting new coal plants. The proposed plant would meet the
standard set by SSB 6001 by capturing and sequestering a portion (65
percent, according to a plant spokesman) of its carbon.
Utility action in the US
- Progress Energy Carolinas
announced on June 1, 2007, that it was beginning a two-year moratorium
on proposals for new coal-fired power plants while it undertook more
aggressive efficiency and conservation programs. The company added,
"Additional reductions in future electricity demand growth through
energy efficiency could push the need for new power plants farther into
the future."
- Public Service of Colorado concluded in its November 2007 Resource Plan: "In sum, in light of the now likely regulation of CO2
emissions in the future due to broader interest in climate change
issues, the increased costs of constructing new coal facilities, and the
increased risk of timely permitting to meet planned in-service dates,
Public Service does not believe it would not be prudent to consider at
this time any proposals for new coal plants that do not include CO2 capture and sequestration.
- Xcel Energy
noted in its 2007 Resource Plan that "given the likelihood of future
carbon regulation, we have only modeled a future coal-based resource
option that includes carbon capture and storage."
- Minnesota Power Company announced in December 2007 that it would not consider a new coal resource without a carbon solution.
- Avista Utilities announced that it does not anticipate pursuing coal-fired power plants in the foreseeable future.
- NorthWestern Energy
announced on December 17, 2007, that it planned to double its wind
power capacity over the next seven years and steer away from new
baseload coal plants. The plans are detailed in the company's 2007
Montana Electric Supply Resource Plan.
- California Energy Commission
(CEC) has initiated its review of two 53.4-megawatt solar thermal power
plants that will each include a 40-megawatt biomass power plant to
supplement the solar power.
Japan
Japan, the
world's third-largest economy, made a major move to use more fossil
fuels in 2012, when the nation shut down nuclear reactors following the
Fukishima accident. Nuclear, which had supplied 30 percent of Japanese
electricity from 1987 to 2011, supplied only 2 percent in 2012
(hydropower supplied 8 percent). Nuclear electricity was replaced with
electricity from petroleum, coal, and liquified natural gas. As a
result, electricity generation from fossil fuels rose to 90 percent in
2012.
In January 2017, the Japanese government announced plans to build
45 new coal-fired power plants in the next ten years, largely to
replace expensive electricity from petroleum power plants.
Phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles
Many countries and cities have introduced bans on the sales of new
internal combustion engine vehicles, requiring all new cars to be
electric vehicles or otherwise powered by clean, non-emitting sources. Such bans include the United Kingdom by 2040 and Norway by 2025. Many transit authorities are working to purchase only
electric buses while also restricting use of ICE vehicles in the city center to limit air pollution. Many US states have a
zero-emissions vehicle mandate, incrementally requiring a certain percent of cars sold to be electric.
Public opinion
Opinion polls
Opinion research
In October 2007,
Civil Society Institute released the results of a poll of 1,003 US citizens conducted by Opinion Research Corporation.
The authors of the poll reported:
"75 percent of Americans—including 65 percent of Republicans, 83 percent
of Democrats and 76 percent of Independents—would 'support a five-year
moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the United States if there
was stepped-up investment in clean, safe renewable energy—such as wind
and solar—and improved home energy-efficiency standards.' Women (80
percent) were more likely than men (70 percent) to support this idea.
Support also was higher among college graduates (78 percent) than among
those who did not graduate from high school (68 percent)."
The exact question posed by the survey was as follows:
"More than half of power plant-generated electricity comes from coal.
Experts say that power plants are responsible for about 40 percent of
U.S. carbon dioxide pollution linked to global warming. There are plans
to build more than 150 new coal-fired power plants over the next several
years. Would you support a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power
plants in the United States if there was stepped-up investment in
clean, safe and renewable energy—such as wind and solar—and improved
home energy-efficiency standards? Would you say definitely yes, probably
yes, probably no, definitely no, or don't know."
The results were as follows:
- 30% "definitely yes"
- 45% "probably yes"
- 13% "probably no"
- 8% "definitely no"
- 4% "don't know"
Gallup
In 2013,
the Gallup organization determined that 41% of Americans wanted less
emphasis placed on coal energy, versus 31% who wanted more. Large
majorities wanted more emphasis placed on solar (76%), wind (71%), and
natural gas (65%).
ABC News/Washington Post
A
2009 ABC/Washington Post poll found 52% of Americans favored more coal
mining (33% strongly favored), while 45% opposed (27% strongly opposed).
The most support was for wind and solar, which were favored by 91% (79%
strongly favored).
CLEAN call to action
In October 2007, fifteen groups led by
Citizens Lead for Energy Action Now
(CLEAN) called for a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power
plants, with no exception for plants sequestering carbon. The groups
included Save Our Cumberland Mountains (Tennessee); Ohio Valley
Environmental Council (West Virginia); Cook Inlet Keeper (Alaska);
Christians for the Mountains (West Virginia); Coal River Mountain Watch
(West Virginia); Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (Kentucky); Civil
Society Institute (Massachusetts); Clean Power Now (Massachusetts);
Indigenous Environmental Network (Minnesota); Castle Mountain Coalition
(Alaska); Citizens Action Coalition (Indiana); Appalachian Center for
the Economy & the Environment (West Virginia); Appalachian Voices
(NC); and Rhode Island Wind Alliance (Rhode Island).
Environmental Defense Fund
The US-based
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has taken a stand in favor of natural gas production and
hydraulic fracturing, while pressing for stricter environmental controls on gas drilling, as a feasible way to replace coal.
The organization has funded studies jointly with the petroleum industry
on the environmental effects of natural gas production. The
organization sees natural gas as a way to quickly replace coal, and that
natural gas in time will be replaced by renewable energy. The policy has been criticized by some environmentalists. EDF counsel and blogger Mark Brownstein answered:
Demand for natural gas is not going
away, and neither is hydraulic fracturing. We must be clear-eyed about
this, and fight to protect public health and the environment from
unacceptable impacts. We must also work hard to put policies in place
that ensure that natural gas serves as an enabler of renewable power
generation, not an impediment to it. We fear that those who oppose all
natural gas production everywhere are, in effect, making it harder for
the U.S. economy to wean itself from dirty coal.
— Mark Brownstein, EDF council
Other groups supporting a coal moratorium
Shareholder resolutions in favor of a coal moratorium
RESOLVED: Shareholders request that BOA's board of directors amend
its GHG emissions policies to observe a moratorium on all financing,
investment and further involvement in activities that support MTR coal
mining or the construction of new coal-burning power plants that emit
carbon dioxide.
Prominent individuals supporting a coal moratorium
If you're a young person looking at
the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now,
and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration.
- Banker and financier Tom Sanzillo,
currently First Deputy Comptroller for the state of New York, called
for a moratorium on new coal plants in the state of Iowa. Citing slow
growth in electricity demand and better alternative sources of energy,
Sanzillo said, "It's not only good public policy, it's great economics."
Prominent individuals supporting a coal phase-out
Mayors supporting a coal moratorium
On
13 October 2007, Pocatello, Idaho, mayor Roger Chase told other mayors
from across the state attending an Association of Idaho Cities
legislative committee that he favored a moratorium no new coal plants in
the state.
On 1 June 2007, Park City, Utah, mayor Dana Wilson wrote a letter to
Warren Buffett expressing the city's opposition to three coal plants proposed by Rocky Mountain Power.
In November 2007, Salt Lake City mayor
Rocky Anderson expressed his support for a coal moratorium at a rally organized by the Step It Up! campaign.
In December 2007, Charlottesville, VA, mayor Dave Norris blogged in favor of a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants.
On 19 December 2007, Charlottesville passed the Charlottesville Clean
Energy Resolution putting the city on record as supporting a moratorium.
Local governments supporting a coal moratorium
In
January 2008, Black Hawk County (Iowa) Health Board recommended that
the state adopt a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants until it
enacts tougher air pollution standards.
Alternative Sources of Energy
Alternative energy refers to any source of energy that can substitute the role of fossil fuels.
Renewable energy, or energy that is harnessed from
renewable sources, is an alternative energy. However, alternative energy can refer to non renewable sources as well, like
nuclear energy. Between the alternative sources of energy are:
solar energy,
hydroelectricity,
marine energy,
wind energy,
geothermal energy,
biofuels,
ethanol and
Hydrogen.
Energy efficiency is complementary to the use of alternative energy sources, when phasing-out fossil fuels.
Renewable energy
The worldwide growth of renewable energy is shown by the green line
Renewable energy is
energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished such as
sunlight,
wind,
rain,
tides,
waves, and
geothermal heat. As of 2014, 19% of global final energy consumption comes from
renewable resources, with 9% of all energy from traditional
biomass, mainly used for
heating, 1% from biofuels, 4% from
hydroelectricity
and 4% from biomass, geothermal or solar heat. Popular renewables
(wind, solar, geothermal and biomass for power) accounted for another
1.4% and are growing rapidly.
While renewable energy supplies are growing and have displaced coal in
some regions, the amount of coal burned in 2021, is expected to be the
same as it was in 2014.
Hydroelectricity
In 2015,
hydroelectric energy generated 16.6% of the worlds total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity. In Europe and North America environmental concerns around land flooded by large
reservoirs
ended 30 years of dam construction in the 1990s. Since then large dams
and reservoirs continue to be built in countries like China, Brazil and
India.
Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity and
small hydro have become popular alternatives to conventional dams that may create reservoirs in environmentally sensitive areas.
Wind power
First wind farm consisting of 7,5 MW Enercon E-126 turbines, Estinnes, Belgium, 20 July 2010, two months before completion; note the 2-part blades.
A wind farm is a group of
wind turbines
in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm
may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an
extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the
turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. A wind farm may
also be located offshore.
Wind power has grown dramatically since 2005 and by 2015 supplied almost 1% of global energy consumption.
Many of the largest operational onshore wind farms are located in the United States and China. The
Gansu Wind Farm
in China has over 5,000 MW installed with a goal of 20,000 MW by 2020.
China has several other "wind power bases" of similar size. The
Alta Wind Energy Center in
California, United States is the largest onshore wind farm outside of China, with a capacity of 1020 MW of power. As of February 2012, the
Walney Wind Farm in the United Kingdom is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 367 MW, followed by
Thanet Offshore Wind Project (300 MW), also in the United Kingdom. As of February 2012, the
Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm in Romania is the largest onshore wind farm in
Europe at 600 MW.
There are many large wind farms under construction and these include
Sinus Holding Wind Farm (700 MW),
Anholt Offshore Wind Farm (400 MW),
BARD Offshore 1 (400 MW),
Clyde Wind Farm (350 MW),
Greater Gabbard wind farm (500 MW),
Lincs Wind Farm (270 MW),
London Array (1000 MW),
Lower Snake River Wind Project (343 MW),
Macarthur Wind Farm (420 MW),
Shepherds Flat Wind Farm (845 MW), and
Sheringham Shoal (317 MW).
Wind power in Denmark produced the equivalent of 42.1% of total electricity consumption in 2015, however, use of wind for heating is minor.
Solar
In 2017, solar power provided 1.7% of total worldwide electricity production, growing at 35% per annum.
By 2020 the solar contribution to global final energy consumption is expected to exceed 1%.
Solar photovoltaics
As of January 2013, the largest individual photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are
Agua Caliente Solar Project, (Arizona, over 247 MW connected – to increase to 397 MW),
Golmud Solar Park (China, 200 MW),
Mesquite Solar project (Arizona, 150 MW),
Neuhardenberg Solar Park (Germany, 145 MW),
Templin Solar Park (Germany, 128 MW),
Toul-Rosières Solar Park (France, 115 MW), and
Perovo Solar Park (Ukraine, 100 MW). The
Charanka Solar Park is a collection of solar power stations of which 214 MW were reported complete in April 2012, on a 2000
ha site. It is part of
Gujarat Solar Park, a group of solar farms at various locations in the
Gujarat state of India, with overall capacity of 702 MW. There are a total of 570 MW of solar parks in Golmud, with 500 MW more expected in 2012.
Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use
innovative tracking systems that follow the sun's daily path across the
sky to generate more electricity than conventional fixed-mounted
systems. Solar power plants have no fuel costs or emissions during
operation.
Concentrated solar power
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and
tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam.
The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional
power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most
developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel
reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower. Various
techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these
systems a
working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage.
Biofuels
Biomass
Biomass is
biological material from living, or recently living organisms, most often referring to plants or plant-derived materials. As a
renewable energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or indirectly – once or converted into another type of energy product such as
biofuel. Biomass can be converted to energy in three ways:
thermal conversion,
chemical conversion, and
biochemical conversion.
Using biomass as a fuel produces
air pollution in the form of
carbon monoxide,
carbon dioxide,
NOx (nitrogen oxides), VOCs (
volatile organic compounds), particulates and other pollutants at levels above those from traditional fuel sources such as
coal or
natural gas in some cases (such as with indoor heating and cooking).
Utilization of wood biomass as a fuel can also produce fewer
particulate and other pollutants than open burning as seen in wildfires
or direct heat applications.
Black carbon –
a pollutant created by combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and
biomass – is possibly the second largest contributor to global warming.
In 2009 a Swedish study of the giant brown haze that periodically
covers large areas in South Asia determined that it had been principally
produced by biomass burning, and to a lesser extent by fossil fuel
burning.
Denmark has increased the use of biomass and garbage, and decreased the use of coal.
Nuclear energy
The 2014
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
report identifies nuclear energy as one of the technologies that can
provide electricity with less than 5% of the lifecycle greenhouse gas
emissions of coal power. There are more than 60 nuclear reactors shown as under construction in the list of
Nuclear power by country
with China leading at 23. Globally, more nuclear power reactors have
closed than opened in recent years but overall capacity has increased. China has stated its plans to double nuclear generation by 2030. India also plans to greatly increase its nuclear power.
Several countries have enacted laws to cease construction on new
nuclear power stations. Several European countries have debated
nuclear phase-outs and others have completely shut down some reactors. Three
nuclear accidents have influenced the slowdown of nuclear power: the 1979
Three Mile Island accident in the United States, the 1986
Chernobyl disaster in the USSR, and the 2011
Fukushima nuclear disaster
in Japan. Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Germany
has permanently shut down eight of its 17 reactors and pledged to close
the rest by the end of 2022. Italy voted overwhelmingly to keep their country non-nuclear. Switzerland and Spain have banned the construction of new reactors. Japan's prime minister has called for a dramatic reduction in Japan's reliance on nuclear power. Taiwan's president did the same.
Shinzō Abe,
the new prime minister of Japan since December 2012, announced a plan
to restart some of the 54 Japanese nuclear power plants and to continue
some nuclear reactors under construction.
Energy efficiency
Moving away from fossil fuels will require changes not only in the
way energy is supplied, but in the way it is used, and reducing the
amount of energy required to deliver various goods or services is
essential.
Opportunities for improvement on the demand side of the energy equation
are as rich and diverse as those on the supply side, and often offer
significant economic benefits.
Efficiency is essential to slowing the energy demand growth so that
rising clean energy supplies can make deep cuts in fossil fuel use. If
energy use grows too fast, renewable energy development will chase a
receding target. Likewise, unless clean energy supplies come online
rapidly, slowing demand growth will only begin to reduce total
emissions; reducing the carbon content of energy sources is also needed.
The IEA has stated that renewable energy and energy efficiency
policies are complementary tools for the development of a sustainable
energy future, and should be developed together instead of being
developed in isolation.
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