David Turver explains why we will need new coal-fired electricity generation capacity to keep the lights on.
The UK closed its last coal-fired power station at Radcliffe-on-Soar in 2024. This closure marked the end of a series of closures marked by politicians blowing up other coal-fired power stations to celebrate, publicly, their compliance with the Net Zero agenda.
Now Germany is considering reopening some of its coal-fired power stations in response to the energy crisis caused by the war with Iran. Many other countries, such as India, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Bangladesh, are stepping up the generation of coal-fired power to offset gas shortages created by the conflict.
Emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates have always been more powerful arguments for reducing coal use than carbon dioxide emissions, but new super-critical power plants scrub their emissions very effectively. Time to explore whether the UK should be reopening coal mines and rebuilding coal-fired power stations to keep the lights on. Should we focus on “Coal Not Cold”?....<<<Read More>>>...
