Posted on Jan. 21, 2008
By Peter Glover
Coal is once again becoming Europe's fuel of choice, thanks in part to
new clean technologies. And it's not just Europe. According to the
I.E.A.'s World Energy Outlook 2007, a global switch to coal is underway.
By 2030 the agency expects demand to increase 73 percent. "Europe's own
abundant coal reserves offer security of supply," stated E.U. Energy
Commissioner Andris Piebalgs at a 2006 energy conference in Gliwice,
Poland. Piebalgs added this caveat: "However, the challenge of global
climate change means that coal use must be accompanied by a reduced
environmental impact, which means lower emissions."
Without doubt the trend in Europe's power companies is for coal-power
generation. Germany's major electricity providers, Vattenfall, RWE,
E.On, and EnBW, are planning up to 26 new coal-fired plants, with total
investments of some $40 billion. The Netherlands is planning five
coal-fired plants, with Britain planning three. E.On recently announced
a new coal-fired plant for Belgium and Italy's Enel is about to finish
converting most of its oil-fired plants to coal, a program begun in
2004.
In 2000, coal usage for the members of the E.U.-15 accounted for some 43
percent of the total power generation mix. By 2020 that will be 40
percent - but a much larger amount of electricity will be generated.
While environmental groups have lined up to accuse the E.U. of reneging
on its Kyoto commitments, the fact is that Europe will be a major coal
consumer for years to come.
Warmest Regards
Bonzo
The Fourth Re****t of the IPCC might just as well decree the
suppression of all climatology textbooks, and replace them in our
schools with press communiqués. ... Day after day, the same mantra -
that 'the Earth is warming up' - is churned out in all its forms. As
'the
ice melts' and 'sea level rises' the Apocalypse looms ever nearer!
Without realizing it, or perhaps without wi****ng to, the average
citizen in bamboozled, lobotomized, and lulled into mindless acceptance.
.... Non-believers in the greenhouse scenario are in the
position of those long ago who doubted the existence of God ...
Marcel Leroux
It should be abundantly clear by now that the AGW hypothesis is
contradicted by the facts/measurements/observations and should
therefore be abandoned and be substituted by a hypothesis which
better matches the facts.
- Hans Labohm
|
