Coal, here today, here tomorrow (Part 1)

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Coal, here today, here tomorrow (Part 1)
By Dr. Jay Lehr, Robert Lyman |January 17th, 2022|Energy

As we will most certainly convince the reader in this series of essays, we need not ever worry that coal will be eliminated as a major energy source in the US and the world. We simultaneously want to convince you that we are not talking about your grandfather’s coal plant.

Years ago, if you drove past a coal fired plant you saw a gray cloud emerging from its exhaust tower. The color was caused by fly ash and a few other byproducts of burning coal. More often today, a billowing cloud is white and made up mostly of water vapor. This is a result of considerable investment made by coal plant owners in emission control equipment. Clean power plants did not happen overnight.

Some of the first environmental controls implemented around the world were electrostatic precipitators, which remove fly ash from the exhaust gases. That fly ash now passes through electrically charged plates which pull the fly ash particles out of the stream. When the plates are full, the fly ash is moved to a hopper at the bottom of the plates. The process removes 99% of the particles created by burning coal. The process works much the same way in which an automobile’s catalytic converter removes nitrogen oxide from engine exhaust. Most coal plants continuously monitor the composition of their emissions and thus how well their environmental controls are working. 

https://www.cfact.org/2022/01/17/coal-here-today-here-tomorrow-part-1/

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China knows this far too well.

While the western world shutters its coal plants and voluntarily lessen their prosperity, China is building more and more coal plants and increasing their economic well-being.

Coal-Fired Electricity Generation Capacity by Country in 2021 

Country Capacity (MW)

China            1,042,947

India              229,247

U.S.                223,621

Japan             47,872

Russia            44,845

South Africa  41,904

South Korea  36,380

Indonesia      33,966

Poland            30,200

Australia        25,107

Ukraine          22,265

Vietnam         20,317

Taiwan           18,873

Turkey            18,113

Malaysia         13,529

 Source: Global Energy Monitor