The energy crisis gives a boost to the dying coal in Spain

  • Global demand for the most polluting of fossil fuels is on the rise again

The date of December 31, 2018 occupies a prominent place in the mourning calendar of the mining basins Spanish. That New Year’s Eve the European directive that forced to close uncompetitive coal mining that they had received aid for its final closure. Of the dozen mines that existed a year earlier, only one remained, the Asturian well of Nicolasa, owned by the state company Hunosa. But the closure of peninsular farms did not end the more polluting of fossil fuels. In the midst of the energy crisis, Coal has reappeared its head again with a slight rebound in its contribution to the electricity generation, the penultimate spasm in Spain of a fuel that is far from dying in other regions of the world.

The contribution of coal to Spanish electricity generation increased by 36% in September with respect to the same month of the previous year and a 45% in October, according to data from Red Eléctrica Española, although it is below the levels of 2019. The old coal did not take on so much prominence since the passage of temporary Filomena across the peninsula at the beginning of the year, bad news in times of climate emergency, which requires the electrical system to be decarbonized as soon as possible. A recent report from the consulting firm PWC argues that Spain should double its rate of emission reduction to meet the goals of paris, even being one of the countries that cut the most its greenhouse gases.

“Ideally, there would be no more coal-fired power plants, but even so the current levels of coal burning are very low,” says Massimiliano Patierno, an environmental engineer at the International Institute of Law and Environment. “It does not reach 3% of the national generation and everything indicates that the increase will be punctual & rdquor ;. Experts explain the current rebound for cyclical reasons, starting with shortages and the very high prices of gas, which raise fear of a winter of blackouts and shortages.

The imminent closure of Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, which was transporting from Algeria to Almería a third of the gas consumed in Spain, on Wednesday forced Minister Teresa Ribera’s trip to Algiers to try to guarantee the supply. “The option would be to increase imports of liquefied natural gas but the price is higher and there is a lot of competition with Asia, so many LNG carriers are going there & rdquor ;, says Patierno.

Less renewable production

Neither has the fall in the production of renewables as a result of last month’s decree law that obliges wind and photovoltaic to return part of their income from selling cheap energy at the price of the most expensive in the wholesale auction. His fight with the Government has led to several production stoppages, which have forced an increase in the electricity imports from France and Morocco. A third factor for the rebound in coal, according to Patierno, is the planned shutdown in Ascó, Cofrentes and Almaraz nuclear power plants to refuel. Ascó has already done it, a break that should last about a month.

The resurgence of coal is called, however, to be temporary because all Spanish thermal power plants have an expiration date. Of the five that remain open, only three are currently operating. Pass and Soto de Ribera, in Asturias, and Central Litoral, in Almería. A fourth, the Galician from the bridges, recently received a shipment of 80,000 tons of coal to reactivate its production if necessary. “In August new limits on emissions imposed from Brussels came into force and only a few thermal power plants have been able to go ahead,” says the IIDMA analyst.

The dismantling of the thermals is one of the key pieces of the European Union plans for reduce 55% of its CO2 emissions in 2030. But only three countries (Austria, Belgium and Sweden) have already banished coal from their energy menu, while another 12 have pledged to do so by 2030, including Spain. However, none of the major producers and users of the continent have entered these periods. Neither Germany, Poland, Czech Republic or Bulgaria, according to the Europe Beyond Coal platform.

Disappearance of coal in Europe

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More disheartening is its short-term horizon in the world, where coal remains the most used fuel for electricity generation. After reducing its demand by 4% in 2020 due to the stoppage of the pandemic, this year is expected to grow by 4.5% to exceed 2019 levels and approach the 2014 record, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). More than two-thirds of that demand will come from Asia, mainly from China, which consumes half of the world’s coal and has increased its production to cope with the serious supply problems it faces.

“Global carbon emissions are set to increase by 1.5 billion tons this year, driven by the resurgence of coal in the electricity sector& rdquor ;, IEA Director Faith Birol said a few months ago. “It is a stark warning that the economic recovery from covid is anything but sustainable for our climate”.

Reference-www.elperiodico.com

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