24/10/2017

One In Seven Coal Power Plant Owners Are Heading For The Exit

Climate Home - 

North American and European utilities are phasing out old coal plants, Coal Swarm survey shows, as Asian companies dominate new development
Open pit mine and power plant (Photo: Deposit Photos)
One in seven coal plant owners worldwide fully or partially phased out their coal fleets between 2010 and 2017.
The first ever global survey of coal phase out plans, released on Wednesday by data trackers Coal Swarm, revealed two different trajectories as the industry collapses in the west but marches on in Asia.
Out of 994 companies with coal plants, 139 closed at least 20% of their capacity, predominantly in north America and western Europe, with 71 retiring their coal fleets completely.
A parallel report by Greenpeace identified 23 cities, regions and countries implicitly or explicitly phasing out coal burning for power.
Together, they show a rapid shift in the politics and economics of coal, researchers say. “Five years ago, nobody was forecasting this,” Greenpeace analyst Lauri Myllyvirta told Climate Home News, “so in that sense, things are moving incredibly fast”.
At the same time, the data shows 303 first-time coal plant developers are actively pursuing projects, with Asian companies dominating. Interest persists despite a recent clampdown on excess capacity in the two biggest markets: China and India.
In the US, where president Donald Trump is promising to put coal miners back to work, several prominent utilities are steering in the opposite direction.
AES, Berkshire Hathaway, Duke, NextEra Energy, NRG Energy and PSEG have retired 12-77% of their coal capacity in the last eight years, the report shows. Of these, only AES has plans to build a new plant – in the Philippines.
California went coal-free in 2014 and five states are expected to follow by 2025, regardless of Trump’s planned rollback of curbs on coal burning.
Some European majors have changed their names or structures to signify a break from the fossil-dominated past. E.on split its declining thermal power business Uniper off from its renewables business while Dong (an acronym referring to its origins in oil and gas) this month rebranded as Ørsted. Iberdrola retired 82% of its coal fleet.
Eight EU countries including the UK and France have declared plans to quit coal by 2030 or sooner. Last week, the Netherlands’ newly formed coalition government confirmed it would close three brand new coal plants early to meet climate targets. The UK and Canada last week announced they would form an alliance of nations who have committed to phasing out coal power.
“In Europe, US, Canada, you can really see companies running away from coal,” said Carlos Fernandez-Alvarez, senior energy analyst at the International Energy Agency, commenting on the trends.
The outlook for Asia, which is critical to meeting international climate goals, is more complex.
Coal Swarm highlights that of the 681 first-time coal developers it studied, 56% shelved or cancelled their projects. This is presented as evidence that appetite for the sector is dwindling.
Fernandez-Alvarez said a 56% project drop-out rate was not unusual for large scale energy infrastructure. After a decade of surging coal development in Asia, it was “a big change” to see the trajectory flattening out. But “this is very far from the end of coal,” he added.
The IEA has revised down its growth forecasts for coal in recent years, “but not that dramatically”, said Fernandez-Alvarez. Its central scenario still predicts a slight increase in coal demand over the coming decades.
China slashed the number of construction permits issued to coal power projects 85% between 2015 and 2016, Greenpeace notes.
India is seeing a finance squeeze for coal, as cheap solar power shakes up the market. Its Central Electricity Authority estimates plants currently under construction will be sufficient to meet demand until 2027.
“The markets that have been driving growth have been overbuilt and are really not seeing demand for coal-fired power growing anywhere near as fast as planners imagined,” said Myllyvirta.
“If you look at how competitive renewables are already now in India – both wind and solar are able to bid lower [prices] than new coal plants… a rebound [for coal] in ten years is not really a worry.”
Still, China’s five year plan aims to cap coal power capacity at 1,100GW in 2020, allowing for a 150GW increase from today’s level. For comparison the US, with the world’s second biggest coal fleet, has less than 300GW.
Of the ten biggest developers of plants in pre-construction planning globally, six are Chinese, two Indian, one Indonesian and one Thai.

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NSW Bushfires: Blaze Threat Intensifies Due To Climate Change, Report Warns

NEWS.com.au

FIREFIGHTER numbers will need to double to combat increasingly dangerous bushfire seasons as a result of intensifying climate change.

The Worst Bushfires in Australian History

BY 2030 there will not be enough firefighters to combat increasingly dangerous bushfire seasons, starting earlier and lasting longer as a result of intensifying climate change. Numbers will need to double, according to a worrying new report.
The Climate Council’s ‘Earlier, More Frequent, More Dangerous: Bushfires in New South Wales’ report shows climate change exacerbated the record breaking heat in winter and early spring, sparking dangerous fire conditions across the state and much of Australia.
Fire warning ... Firefighters battle recent blaze at Cessnock. Picture: Dylan Robinson Source: News Corp Australia
Destruction ... Shirley Holden stands among the ruins of Uarbry homestead in February. Source: News Corp Australia
“These severe conditions led the Rural Fire Service to declare an early start to the bushfire danger season across a number of regions in New South Wales,” said Climate Councillor and ecologist, Professor Lesley Hughes.
“New South Wales has already experienced many bushfires this season. The bushfire threat has also been exacerbated thanks to unprecedented temperatures in September, with parts of the state reaching more than 40 degrees for the first time on record,” she said.
Professor Hughes said New South Wales will continue to experience an increasing number of days with dangerous fire weather, placing fire services and medical professionals under increasing pressure.
“Communities, emergency services and the health sector needs to be prepared and resourced for worsening fire danger conditions now and into the future. By 2030 firefighter numbers will need to at least double.”
NSW is facing bushfire seasons that start earlier and last longer. Picture: Dylan Robinson Source: News Corp Australia
“This spring and summer bushfire conditions are ‘above normal’ so preparation will be critical.”

Key Findings
  • Hot, dry conditions have a major influence on bushfires. The 2017 winter in New South Wales was one of the warmest on record and extremely dry, and was then followed by unprecedented September heat, including some regions reaching 40ºC or more for the first time on record.
  • Bushfire costs in New South Wales are likely to more than double by mid-century to over $100 million per year. These estimates are conservative, because they do not factor in climate change.
  • ‘Above normal’ fire potential is expected for much of the eastern New South Wales in the 2017-18 bushfire season, on the back of warm, dry June-September weather.
  • Bushfires have a major negative impact on public health, the economy and the environment in New South Wales.
Health hazard ... Bushfire haze hangs over Sydney Harbour in August. Picture: AAP Source: AAP

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie warned the escalating fire risk in New South Wales also posed a significant threat to human health.

How to prepare your home for bushfire season.

“Bushfire smoke can seriously affect human health, from respiratory irritants, through to inflammatory and cancer-causing chemicals.
Young children, the elderly and those with chronic lung and heart diseases are at greatest risk.” she said.
McKenzie said the Federal Government’s dumping of the Clean Energy Target in favour of the vague ‘National Energy Guarantee’ plan, places Australia at risk of worsening pollution levels, exacerbating more intense heatwaves and bushfire conditions.
“The Federal Government’s energy plan is a classic example of policy on the run. The key tests of a robust energy and climate policy is — does it get down pollution and facilitate the transition to renewable energy? This policy does neither,” she said.
“Tackling climate change, through transitioning to clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy and storage technology is the only solution — this is critical to reducing the risk of worsening extreme weather events including bushfires.”

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Adani Coal Mine 'Devastating' For Australia

Al Jazeera - 


Australia: Adani coal mine raises environmental concerns

 Central Queensland, Australia - Farmers and environmentalists in Australia are waging a fierce battle to stop a new mega coal mine planned for the country's northeast from going ahead.
Indian energy giant Adani Group has said it will break ground this month on the project which is expected to become one of the largest coal mines in the world.
The company says the Carmichael mine, which has the backing of the Australian government, will bring jobs and deliver royalties that will benefit Australians.
But those opposing the project believe it could wreak havoc on the environment.
"If that Adani mine goes ahead, it's going to be devastating," farmer Bruce Currie told Al Jazeera's 101 East.
The project was due to be launched on Friday, with Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce due to attend, but the ceremony was cancelled due to rain, according to an Adani spokesman.
"The ground-breaking event has been postponed to a date to be determined," the spokesman told news.com.au.
In the drought-prone region of Central Queensland, farmers fear the project could contaminate the groundwater they rely upon for their cattle.
Coal mining is one of the most water-intensive methods of generating electricity. About 200 litres of freshwater is used for each tonne of coal produced. Farmers fear the water levels could drop and bores could run dry.
 Adani has stated it will use 12 billion litres of water annually at the mine.
"The only certainty we get is whatever groundwater they destroy in their mining operations is lost for perpetuity," said Currie, who has fought a long-running legal battle to stop the mine from going ahead.

'Worst thing you can do to the Great Barrier Reef'
There are also concerns about the mine's potential to damage Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
"The decision to go ahead with the Adani mine is just about the most unbelievably negligent decision you can possibly imagine," said Charlie Veron, a leading marine biologist.
"It's the worst thing you can possibly do for the Great Barrier Reef."
He believes the carbon emissions from extracting and burning coal from Adani's mine will inflict further damage on Australia's already threatened reef.
"We lost about half the corals in the Great Barrier Reef in the last two years. In 15 years, it is highly probable there'll be nothing left. It's that serious," said Veron.
Last week's cancellation of the launch came amid growing criticism and opposition to the project.
The mine has been approved by the Australian government, which says it will help boost the country's export revenues and provide much-needed jobs.
The leader of the Australian Greens party, Richard Di Natale, said "many, many thousands" will physically stop the project if the government does not go back on its decision.
"Make no mistake, people right across the country are so motivated to stop this thing that if we can't stop it in the parliament, we will stop it by standing in front of those bulldozers," he told Sky News on Sunday.
"It won't go ahead. I am very confident of that. This is a disaster no matter which way you look at it, and it won't go ahead."
Queensland's unemployment rate is at about 6.4 percent. Adani and the Australian government said the project will provide 10,000 jobs.
Experts estimate that this figure will be much lower and would come at the expense of mining jobs elsewhere in Australia.

Adani's track record in India
Australian senator Matt Canavan said it took seven years for the Adani project to be approved because of Australia's "extremely robust environmental approval system".
"I challenge anyone to claim that this mine has not been subjected to the most stringent environmental controls," said Canavan.
But opponents point to Adani's record in India, where four independent reports commissioned by the government and judiciary in the past decade found the company breached environmental laws by destroying mangroves and blocking creeks to reclaim land.
Al Jazeera's 101 East travelled to the town of Mundra in India's Gujarat state where fishermen accuse the company of dumping sand in local waterways.
A local fisherman, Rahimtullah, said fish stocks have plummeted since Adani built a coal power plant and port nearby.
"They have taken our livelihood away," he said.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, the Adani Group denied all claims it had caused environmental damage in India. The company said it is "an absolute and religiously law-abiding organisation and respects the law of the land".

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