Policy
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efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal use and improve air
quality. There are restrictions on particulate, sulfur, and mercury emissions
that require expensive emission controls on coal plants. These alone are
helping to shift the economics in favor of natural gas, wind, and solar
energy for power generation. More recent policy efforts in many countries
have tried to help guide this transition to other methods for generating
electricity.
A number of countries plan to phase out coal- generated electricity by 2030
(PPCA, 2019). In 2019, the Powering Past Coal Alliance has 80 members that
are working cooperatively towards the goal of phasing out unabated coal
power generation of electricity by 2030. Thirty of those members are national
governments. Part of the motivation for these policies to phase out coal combustion is in order to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, and
another part of the motivation is based on the desire to improve air quality.
The Powering Past Coal Alliance declaration states that “more than 800,000
people die each year around the world from the pollution generated by
burning coal”.
The transition away from coal has started. Electricity production from
coal peaked in 2014, and many coal- fired generating plants are now running
at lower production levels because electricity from wind and solar are less
expensive operationally. That is, it is now more cost effective to use the electricity generated from wind and solar, and to maintain the coal plant at a
reduced power level for supply and demand management. The capacity
to generate electricity from coal has grown since 2014, even as production
started falling, due to new plants and new technologies. Even coal power
capacity may have peaked as of 2017, because many old coal- fired power
plants are being retired from service. The number of new coal- fired generating systems in 2017 was very small (Carbon Brief, 2018). In 2016, the global
estimate was that 52.5% of coal generating capacity was being used to generate electricity (Carbon Brief, 2018). Belgium has stopped using coal to generate electricity, and ten other European countries have pledged to phase out
coal- fired generation by 2030 (PPCA, 2019; Carbon Brief, 2018).
Of note is the fact that natural gas is included here as an alternative to
coal- fired generation of electricity. Indeed, there are several reasons to favor
natural gas in this scenario. Combustion of natural gas to generate electricity
reduces carbon emissions significantly compared to coal, and natural gas is
a cleaner process with respect to air pollution emissions. Natural gas prices
have also fallen dramatically in the past couple of decades, making it more
affordable.
When comparing all energy production methods, however, wind and
solar energy generate electricity without any combustion emissions. Wind
and solar energy also generate electricity without an expensive infrastructure for extracting, refining, transporting, and burning a fuel. Thus, there
have been significant incentives to encourage the use of renewable energy
to generate electricity both in many countries and in many parts of the
93
93
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal use and improve air
quality. There are restrictions on particulate, sulfur, and mercury emissions
that require expensive emission controls on coal plants. These alone are
helping to shift the economics in favor of natural gas, wind, and solar
energy for power generation. More recent policy efforts in many countries
have tried to help guide this transition to other methods for generating
electricity.
A number of countries plan to phase out coal- generated electricity by 2030
(PPCA, 2019). In 2019, the Powering Past Coal Alliance has 80 members that
are working cooperatively towards the goal of phasing out unabated coal
power generation of electricity by 2030. Thirty of those members are national
governments. Part of the motivation for these policies to phase out coal combustion is in order to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, and
another part of the motivation is based on the desire to improve air quality.
The Powering Past Coal Alliance declaration states that “more than 800,000
people die each year around the world from the pollution generated by
burning coal”.
The transition away from coal has started. Electricity production from
coal peaked in 2014, and many coal- fired generating plants are now running
at lower production levels because electricity from wind and solar are less
expensive operationally. That is, it is now more cost effective to use the electricity generated from wind and solar, and to maintain the coal plant at a
reduced power level for supply and demand management. The capacity
to generate electricity from coal has grown since 2014, even as production
started falling, due to new plants and new technologies. Even coal power
capacity may have peaked as of 2017, because many old coal- fired power
plants are being retired from service. The number of new coal- fired generating systems in 2017 was very small (Carbon Brief, 2018). In 2016, the global
estimate was that 52.5% of coal generating capacity was being used to generate electricity (Carbon Brief, 2018). Belgium has stopped using coal to generate electricity, and ten other European countries have pledged to phase out
coal- fired generation by 2030 (PPCA, 2019; Carbon Brief, 2018).
Of note is the fact that natural gas is included here as an alternative to
coal- fired generation of electricity. Indeed, there are several reasons to favor
natural gas in this scenario. Combustion of natural gas to generate electricity
reduces carbon emissions significantly compared to coal, and natural gas is
a cleaner process with respect to air pollution emissions. Natural gas prices
have also fallen dramatically in the past couple of decades, making it more
affordable.
When comparing all energy production methods, however, wind and
solar energy generate electricity without any combustion emissions. Wind
and solar energy also generate electricity without an expensive infrastructure for extracting, refining, transporting, and burning a fuel. Thus, there
have been significant incentives to encourage the use of renewable energy
to generate electricity both in many countries and in many parts of the