Lawrence Solomon
April 24, 2008
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2008/04/24/the-coal-renaissance-solomon.aspx
Coal is back, despite -- and perhaps also because of -- attempts to beat
it back.
Britain abandoned coal big time after Maggie Thatcher privatized the
energy industry system in the 1980s. With the energy industry forced to
meet market tests, coal fields were shut down, coal-fired power plants
were shut down, and coal-related emissions plummeted.
In recent years, the UK has been moving away from the market system --
the strictest in the world -- that Thatcher ushered in. A slew of
climate change taxes and regulations have distorted the marketplace, in
aid of reducing the country's CO2 emissions. In this new, politicized
environment, coal is surging. The north Midlands and York****re mining
industry, once considered all-but dead, are making a comeback, as is
coal-fired power: The new Kingsnorth power station, set to open in 2012,
will be Britain's first new coal-fired plant in two decades. In all, the
UK has eight coal-fired plants in the pipeline.
The coal renaissance is even more pronounced in Italy, which expects to
more than double its reliance on coal in the next five years, from 14%
to 33%.
Germany and the Czech Republic are also warming to coal.
One factor in coal's resurgence is the high cost of renewable energy
alternatives. Artificially sup****ting wind and solar energy has
increased energy costs that consumers face as well as hitting them
through tax hikes. Politicians now ask themselves: Will voters punish me
more if I hit them in the pocketbook or if I turn a paler shade of
green?
Lawrence Solomon is executive director of Energy Probe and author of The
Deniers: The world-renowned scientists who stood up against global
warming hysteria, political persecution, and fraud.
--
Warmest Regards
Bonzo
"How does a small increase in a very small component [of CO2] have such
a large apparent effect [On Climate]? The truth is that no one has yet
shown that it does." Don Aitkin
|
