Nice article by the good ol' David Roberts on the fate of Coal power globally:
www.vox.com
Key takeaways:
--In 2020, 60% of US coal-fired power plants have already been shut down.
--Zero new US coal power plants are being planned or under construction.
--Globally, coal power is becoming increasingly uneconomic to operate relative to new renewable power, including in India and China.
--Coal is LESS economically viable in China today than it is in the US.
--Coal is expected to be uneconomic (to operate existing plants) in EVERY major global market by 2030, wiping out ~$600 billion in current global capital.
The article dives a bit into China. There is still a popular misconception in the US that China and India are too poor or backward, that they have to build coal plants, or ask the US to build renewable energy for them. This was 2008 era thinking, and why Copenhagan Accord was a total failure. With the current economics of renewable power, China can and will build out renewable power to SAVE itself money. So will India. The Paris Accord (in 2015) is actually an agreement for countries to share best practices for building renewables, and phasing out fossil power, not some politics-driven, foreign aid boondoggle.
While this is all good/needed for the climate, it will have a human cost.
A nice article on this in the US is here:
www.nytimes.com
which describes the closure of a large Coal plant, and associated coal mine, in Arizona. When it operated, its CO2 emissions were the same as >3 million cars. But it supported about a thousand jobs.
It goes on to explain that the loss of coal was never about politics, Obama versus Trump. And discusses how Coal power plant closures have significantly accelerated in the US since 2016, driven by market forces.
4 astonishing signs of coal’s declining economic viability
Coal is now a loser around the world.
www.vox.com
Key takeaways:
--In 2020, 60% of US coal-fired power plants have already been shut down.
--Zero new US coal power plants are being planned or under construction.
--Globally, coal power is becoming increasingly uneconomic to operate relative to new renewable power, including in India and China.
--Coal is LESS economically viable in China today than it is in the US.
--Coal is expected to be uneconomic (to operate existing plants) in EVERY major global market by 2030, wiping out ~$600 billion in current global capital.
The article dives a bit into China. There is still a popular misconception in the US that China and India are too poor or backward, that they have to build coal plants, or ask the US to build renewable energy for them. This was 2008 era thinking, and why Copenhagan Accord was a total failure. With the current economics of renewable power, China can and will build out renewable power to SAVE itself money. So will India. The Paris Accord (in 2015) is actually an agreement for countries to share best practices for building renewables, and phasing out fossil power, not some politics-driven, foreign aid boondoggle.
While this is all good/needed for the climate, it will have a human cost.
A nice article on this in the US is here:
‘The Coal Industry Is Back,’ Trump Proclaimed. It Wasn’t. (Published 2020)
The demise of coal-fired power plants in Arizona and Kentucky shows how the president, despite promises to restore jobs, failed to counter the forces decimating the industry.
which describes the closure of a large Coal plant, and associated coal mine, in Arizona. When it operated, its CO2 emissions were the same as >3 million cars. But it supported about a thousand jobs.
It goes on to explain that the loss of coal was never about politics, Obama versus Trump. And discusses how Coal power plant closures have significantly accelerated in the US since 2016, driven by market forces.
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