Coal has been displacing gas generation in Europe since 2009 and the International Energy Agency expects this trend to continue, Ms Anne Sophie Corbeau, senior gas analyst for the International Energy Agency said that “We will have a Golden Age of Coal in Europe, at least over the next 5 years.” --
CoalGuru, 11 October 2012
Europe is seeing a 'golden age of coal' thanks to cheap U.S. exports, said a senior gas analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA), an advisory body which last year proclaimed the world was heading for a 'golden age of gas.' Anne-Sophie Corbeau, senior gas analyst at the IEA, said gas was losing the battle in Europe's power plants against cheap coal coming from the U.S., where the discovery of shale gas has left huge oversupply in unwanted coal. --
Reuters, 5 October 2012
In Europe no golden age of gas will come. Europe is an exception to the shale revolution. We may be talking of a golden age of coal in Europe and this is (in) contrast with what is happening in the U.S. --Anne-Sophie Corbeau,
Reuters, 5 October 2012
In one for future textbook definitions of unintended consequences, the example of increased coal use in Europe provides a spectacular own goal for green shale gas opponents. --Nick Grealy,
No Hot Air, 11 October 2012
The real push to expand coal is coming from Europe and Asia, greenhouse gas emissions be damned. Aldyen Donnely, president of WDA Consulting Inc. in Vancouver, says there is no way the big coal powers are going to get out of coal, not even the United States, which holds 27.6% of the world’s proven coal reserves. Russia holds 18.2% and China 13.3%. “Those nations will keep coal in their core energy mixes as a national security consideration, if nothing else.” The conclusion is this on coal: Far from coming to an end or a peak, global coalification seems to be well underway. --Terence Corcoran,
Financial Post, 11 October 2012
Environmental campaigners and green policy-makers are blocking shale developments in most European countries. As a result, Europe has failed to join the shale revolution that has swept the US. Instead of benefiting from cheap shale gas, lower CO2 emissions, new industries and hundreds of thousands of new jobs, Europe is constraining itself with self-imposed green limits to growth. As gas is displacing coal for electricity generation in the US, the shale revolution has led to a dramatic reduction in CO2 emissions – down to 1992 levels. In order to replicate the US energy revolution, Europe would need to exit coal and switch to natural gas. Yet the green lobby’s shale gas blockade together with its opposition to nuclear energy is causing the exact opposite: it has led to a renaissance of coal. -- Benny Peiser,
Public Service Europe, 29 August 2012
State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) Thursday expressed confidence that it would be able to raise production by another 180 million tonnes during the 12th five year plan. This will lead to an increase in the CIL's production to 615 million tonnes by financial year 2016-17, compared with 435.84 million tonnes in 2011-12. --
NewsTracker India, 11 October 2012
German citizens will be paying a total of more than €20 billion ($25.7 billion) next year to promote renewable energy. This is more than €175 for an average three-person household, a 50 percent increase over current figures. The development is an embarrassment to Germany’s coalition government. --
Spiegel Online, 10 October 2012
