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{{Short description|Type of thermal power station}}{{About|the specifics of power stations which burn coal|comparison with power stations which burn fuels such as natural gas|fossil fuel power station|information common to all power stations which convert heat into electricity|thermal power station}}{{Use American English|date=November 2022}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}File:Bełchatów Elektrownia.jpg|thumb|Bełchatów Power Station in BełchatówBełchatówFile:Frimmersdorfkw.jpg|thumb|Frimmersdorf Power Station in GrevenbroichGrevenbroich(File:Coal fired power plant diagram.svg|thumb|Coal-fired power station diagram)(File:Share-electricity-coal.svg|thumb|Share of electricity production from coal)A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are over 2,400 coal-fired power stations, totaling over 2,130 gigawatts capacity.WEB, 2022-04-26, Too many new coal-fired plants planned for 1.5C climate goal, report concludes,weblink 2022-12-26, the Guardian, en, They generate about a third of the world's electricity,WEB, It's critical to tackle coal emissions – Analysis, Birol, Fatih, Malpass, David, 8 October 2021,weblink 9 October 2021, International Energy Agency, en-GB, but cause many illnesses and the most early deaths,NEWS, How safe is nuclear energy?, The Economist,weblink 2022-12-26, 0013-0613, mainly from air pollution.WEB, Killed by coal: Air pollution deaths in Jakarta 'may double' by 2030,weblink 8 April 2022, The Jakarta Post, en, World installed capacity doubled from 2000 to 2023 and increased 2% in 2023.JOURNAL, 11 April 2024, April 2024, en, San Francisco, California, 7, 21, Global Energy Monitor, 2% annual increase in the global operating coal fleet, which currently stands at 2,130 GW […] Figure 16: Global coal power capacity continues steady growth despite Paris Agreement, with a 2% uptick in 2023, Boom and Bust Coal 2024,weblink A coal-fired power station is a type of fossil fuel power station. The coal is usually pulverized and then burned in a pulverized coal-fired boiler. The furnace heat converts boiler water to steam, which is then used to spin turbines that turn generators. Thus chemical energy stored in coal is converted successively into thermal energy, mechanical energy and, finally, electrical energy.Coal-fired power stations emit over 10 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year,WEB, CO2 emissions – Global Energy Review 2021 – Analysis,weblink 7 July 2021, IEA, en-GB, about one fifth of world greenhouse gas emissions, so are the single largest cause of climate change.WEB, It's critical to tackle coal emissions – Analysis,weblink 9 October 2021, IEA, 8 October 2021, en-GB, More than half of all the coal-fired electricity in the world is generated in China.NEWS, China generated over half world's coal-fired power in 2020: study,weblink 14 September 2021, Reuters, 28 March 2021, China generated 53% of the world's total coal-fired power in 2020, nine percentage points more that five years earlier, In 2020 the total number of plants started fallingNEWS, Morton, Adam, 3 August 2020, More coal power generation closed than opened around the world this year, research finds, The Guardian,weblink 4 August 2020, 0261-3077, NEWS, 3 December 2020, The dirtiest fossil fuel is on the back foot, The Economist,weblink 12 December 2020, 0013-0613, as they are being retired in EuropeWEB,weblink EU power sector emissions drop as coal collapses across Europe, Piven, Ben, Al Jazeera, 21 March 2020, and AmericaWEB,weblink 4 astonishing signs of coal's declining economic viability, Roberts, David, 14 March 2020, Vox, 21 March 2020, although still being built in Asia, almost all in China.NEWS, 22 September 2021, China pledges to stop building new coal energy plants abroad, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 22 September 2021, Some remain profitable because costs to other people due to the health and environmental impact of the coal industry are not priced into the cost of generation,JOURNAL, Borenstein, Severin, Bushnell, James B., Do Two Electricity Pricing Wrongs Make a Right? Cost Recovery, Externalities, and Efficiency, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 1 November 2022, 14, 4, 80–110, 10.1257/pol.20190758,weblink 11 November 2022, WEB, Davis, Lucas, 21 September 2020, Time to Vote Out Coal,weblink 27 September 2020, Energy Institute Blog, but there is the risk newer plants may become stranded assets.NEWS, Harrabin, Roger,weblink Coal power developers 'risk wasting billions', BBC News, 12 March 2020, The UN Secretary General has said that OECD countries should stop generating electricity from coal by 2030, and the rest of the world by 2040.MAGAZINE, 3 December 2020, The dirtiest fossil fuel is on the back foot, The Economist,weblink 0013-0613, Vietnam is among the few coal-dependent fast developing countries that fully pledged to phase out unbated coal power by the 2040s or as soon as possible thereafter.JOURNAL, Do, Thang, Burke, Paul J, Phasing out coal power in a developing country context: Insights from Vietnam, Energy Policy, 2023, 176, May 2023 113512, 113512, 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113512, 1885/286612, 257356936, free,

History

{{See also|Power station#History}}File:Edison Electric Light Station, Holborn Viaduct, London.jpg|thumb|upright|Holborn Viaduct power stationHolborn Viaduct power stationThe first coal-fired power stations were built in the late 19th century and used reciprocating engines to generate direct current. Steam turbines allowed much larger plants to be built in the early 20th century and alternating current was used to serve wider areas.

Transport and delivery of coal

File:Grand Junction Trip 92007 098.JPG|thumb|Castle Gate Plant near Helper, UtahHelper, Utah{{Uncited-section|date=May 2023}}Coal is delivered by highway truck, rail, barge, collier ship or coal slurry pipeline. Generating stations are sometimes built next to a mine; especially one mining coal, such as lignite, which is not valuable enough to transport long-distance; so may receive coal by conveyor belt or massive diesel-electric-drive trucks. A large coal train called a "unit train" may be 2 km long, containing 130-140 cars with around 100 tonnes of coal in each one, for a total load of over 10,000 tonnes. A large plant under full load requires at least one coal delivery this size every day. Plants may get as many as three to five trains a day, especially in "peak season" during the hottest summer or coldest winter months (depending on local climate) when power consumption is high.Modern unloaders use rotary dump devices, which eliminate problems with coal freezing in bottom dump cars. The unloader includes a train positioner arm that pulls the entire train to position each car over a coal hopper. The dumper clamps an individual car against a platform that swivels the car upside down to dump the coal. Swiveling couplers enable the entire operation to occur while the cars are still coupled together. Unloading a unit train takes about three hours.Shorter trains may use railcars with an "air-dump", which relies on air pressure from the engine plus a "hot shoe" on each car. This "hot shoe" when it comes into contact with a "hot rail" at the unloading trestle, shoots an electric charge through the air dump apparatus and causes the doors on the bottom of the car to open, dumping the coal through the opening in the trestle. Unloading one of these trains takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. Older unloaders may still use manually operated bottom-dump rail cars and a "shaker" attached to dump the coal.A collier (cargo ship carrying coal) may hold {{convert|40000|long ton|tonne|order=flip}} of coal and takes several days to unload. Some colliers carry their own conveying equipment to unload their own bunkers; others depend on equipment at the plant. For transporting coal in calmer waters, such as rivers and lakes, flat-bottomed barges are often used. Barges are usually unpowered and must be moved by tugboats or towboats.For start up or auxiliary purposes, the plant may use fuel oil as well. Fuel oil can be delivered to plants by pipeline, tanker, tank car or truck. Oil is stored in vertical cylindrical steel tanks with capacities as high as {{convert|90000|oilbbl|m3|order=flip}}. The heavier no. 5 "bunker" and no. 6 fuels are typically steam-heated before pumping in cold climates.

Operation

{{See also|Thermal power station}}(File:PowerStation3.svg|thumb|Components of a coal-fired power station)As a type of thermal power station, a coal-fired power station converts chemical energy stored in coal successively into thermal energy, mechanical energy and, finally, electrical energy. The coal is usually pulverized and then burned in a pulverized coal-fired boiler. The heat from the burning pulverized coal converts boiler water to steam, which is then used to spin turbines that turn generators. Compared to a thermal power station burning other fuel types, coal specific fuel processing and ash disposal is required.For units over about 200 MW capacity, redundancy of key components is provided by installing duplicates of the forced and induced draft fans, air preheaters, and fly ash collectors. On some units of about 60 MW, two boilers per unit may instead be provided. The hundred largest coal power stations range in size from 3,000 MW to 6,700 MW.

coal processing

{{Uncited-section|date=May 2023}}Coal is prepared for use by crushing the rough coal to pieces less than {{Convert|5|cm|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} in size. The coal is then transported from the storage yard to in-plant storage silos by conveyor belts at rates up to 4,000 tonnes per hour.In plants that burn pulverized coal, silos feed coal to pulverizers (coal mills) that take the larger 5 cm pieces, grind them to the consistency of talcum powder, sort them, and mix them with primary combustion air, which transports the coal to the boiler furnace and preheats the coal in order to drive off excess moisture content. A 500 MWe plant may have six such pulverizers, five of which can supply coal to the furnace at 250 tonnes per hour under full load.In plants that do not burn pulverized coal, the larger 5 cm pieces may be directly fed into the silos which then feed either mechanical distributors that drop the coal on a traveling grate or the cyclone burners, a specific kind of combustor that can efficiently burn larger pieces of fuel.

Boiler operation

{{further|Fluidized bed combustion| Circulating fluidized bed}}{{Uncited-section|date=May 2023}}Plants designed for lignite (brown coal) are used in locations as varied as Germany, Victoria, Australia, and North Dakota. Lignite is a much younger form of coal than black coal. It has a lower energy density than black coal and requires a much larger furnace for equivalent heat output. Such coals may contain up to 70% water and ash, yielding lower furnace temperatures and requiring larger induced-draft fans. The firing systems also differ from black coal and typically draw hot gas from the furnace-exit level and mix it with the incoming coal in fan-type mills that inject the pulverized coal and hot gas mixture into the boiler.

Ash disposal

The ash is often stored in ash ponds. Although the use of ash ponds in combination with air pollution controls (such as wet scrubbers) decreases the amount of airborne pollutants, the structures pose serious health risks for the surrounding environment.NEWS,weblink Mixing water, Powder River Basin coal ash dangerous to human health, new research finds, Erickson, Camille, 7 October 2019, Casper Star-Tribune, Casper, WY, Power utility companies have often built the ponds without liners, especially in the United States, and therefore chemicals in the ash can leach into groundwater and surface waters.WEB,weblink New Interactive Maps of Groundwater Pollution Reveal Threats Posed by Alabama Power Coal Ash Pits, Brooke, Nelson, 5 June 2019, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Birmingham, AL, Since the 1990s, power utilities in the U.S. have designed many of their new plants with dry ash handling systems. The dry ash is disposed in landfills, which typically include liners and groundwater monitoring systems.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, D.C. (21 June 2010)."Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Special Wastes; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities; Proposed rule." Federal Register, {{usfr|75|35151}} Dry ash may also be recycled into products such as concrete, structural fills for road construction and grout.JOURNAL, Scott, Allan N., Thomas, Michael D. A., Evaluation of Fly Ash From Co-Combustion of Coal and Petroleum Coke for Use in Concrete, ACI Materials Journal, 104, 1, 62–70, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, January–February 2007, 10.14359/18496,

Fly ash collection

{{Uncited-section|date=May 2023}}Fly ash is captured and removed from the flue gas by electrostatic precipitators or fabric bag filters (or sometimes both) located at the outlet of the furnace and before the induced draft fan. The fly ash is periodically removed from the collection hoppers below the precipitators or bag filters. Generally, the fly ash is pneumatically transported to storage silos and stored on site in ash ponds, or transported by trucks or railroad cars to landfills.

Bottom ash collection and disposal

{{Uncited-section|date=May 2023}}At the bottom of the furnace, there is a hopper for collection of bottom ash. This hopper is kept filled with water to quench the ash and clinkers falling down from the furnace. Arrangements are included to crush the clinkers and convey the crushed clinkers and bottom ash to on-site ash ponds, or off-site to landfills. Ash extractors are used to discharge ash from municipal solid waste–fired boilers.

Flexibility

(File:Coal-fired plant animation.ogv|thumb|Coal-fired power station animation)A well-designed energy policy, energy law and electricity market are critical for flexibility.WEB,weblink Status of Power System Transformation 2018: Summary for Policy Makers, IEA Webstore, 3 July 2019, 10 May 2020,weblink dead, Although technically the flexibility of some coal-fired power stations could be improved they are less able to provide dispatchable generation than most gas-fired power plants. The most important flexibility is low minimum load;WEB,weblink Flexibility Toolbox, vgb.org, 3 July 2019, however, some flexibility improvements may be more expensive than renewable energy with batteries.WEB,weblink Battery Power's Latest Plunge in Costs Threatens Coal, Gas, 26 March 2019, BloombergNEF, 3 July 2019,

Coal power generation

{{Latest pie chart of world power by source}}{{As of|2020|}} two-thirds of coal burned is to generate electricity. In 2020 coal was the largest source of electricity at 34%.WEB, Global Electricity Review 2021 - Global Trends,weblink live, 7 July 2021, Ember, 28 March 2021, en-GB,weblink 28 March 2021, Over half coal generation in 2020 was in China. About 60% of electricity in China, India and Indonesia is from coal.In 2020 worldwide 2,059 GW of coal power was operational, 50 GW was commissioned, and 25 GW started construction (most of these three in China); and 38 GW retired (mostly USA and EU).WEB, Boom and Bust 2021: TRACKING THE GLOBAL COAL PLANT PIPELINE,weblink live, Global Energy Monitor,weblink 6 April 2021, In 2023, global coal power capacity increased to 2,130 GW, driven by China adding 47.4 GW.JOURNAL, Monitor, Global Energy, CREA, E3G, Finance, Reclaim, Club, Sierra, SFOC, Network, Kiko, Europe, C. a. N., Groups, Bangladesh, Asia, Trend, ACJCE, Sustentable, Chile, POLEN, ICM, Arayara, 2024-04-10, Boom and Bust Coal 2024,weblink Global Energy Monitor, en-US, 11, {{Rp|pages=7-64}}At COP26 2021, countries have joined the Global Coal to Clean Power pledge. However, intricate challenges remain, particularly in developing countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam.JOURNAL, Do, Thang Nam, Burke, Paul J., 2024-06-01, Phasing out coal power in two major Southeast Asian thermal coal economies: Indonesia and Vietnam,weblink Energy for Sustainable Development, 80, 101451, 10.1016/j.esd.2024.101451, 0973-0826, free,

Efficiency

There are 4 main types of coal-fired power station in increasing order of efficiency are: subcritical, supercritical, ultra-supercritical and cogeneration (also called combined heat and power or CHP).WEB, Coal,weblink 5 July 2019, iea.org, Subcritical is the least efficient type, however recent innovations have allowed retrofits to older subcritical plants to meet or even exceed efficiency of supercritical plants.WEB, Patel, Sonal, 3 August 2020, Xuzhou 3 Shows the Future of Subcritical Coal Power Is Sublime,weblink 4 August 2020, POWER Magazine, en-US,

Integrated gasification combined cycle design

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is a coal power generation technology that uses a high pressure gasifier to turn coal (or other carbon based fuels) into pressurized gas—synthesis gas (syngas). Converting the coal to gas enables the use of a combined cycle generator, typically achieving high efficiency. The IGCC process can also enable removal of some pollutants from the syngas prior to the power generation cycle. However, the technology is costly compared with conventional coal-fired power stations.

Carbon dioxide emissions

(File:Greenhouse gas emissions per energy source.png|thumb|Greenhouse gases by energy source. Coal is the energy source with the most greenhouse gases.){{See also|Fossil fuel power station#Carbon dioxide}}As coal is mainly carbon, coal-fired power stations have a high carbon intensity. On average, coal power stations emit far more greenhouse gas per unit electricity generated compared with other energy sources (see also life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions of energy sources). In 2018 coal burnt to generate electricity emitted over 10 Gt {{CO2}}WEB,weblink Emissions, iea.org, 4 July 2019, 12 August 2019,weblink dead, of the 34 Gt total from fuel combustionWEB,weblink BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019, (the overall total greenhouse gas emissions for 2018 was 55 Gt {{CO2}}eWEB,weblink Emissions Gap Report 2019, Environment, U. N., 19 November 2019, UNEP - UN Environment Programme, en, 22 January 2020, ).

Mitigation

Phase out

{{See also|Coal phase out}}{{multiple image | total_width=450

caption1= The annual amount of coal plant capacity being retired increased into the mid-2010s. However, the rate of retirement has since stalled,RETIRED COAL-FIRED POWER CAPACITY BY COUNTRY / GLOBAL COAL PLANT TRACKER >URL=HTTPS://DOCS.GOOGLE.COM/SPREADSHEETS/D/1T3GO35BZCVI8EKQ9318JBUQ6ND7UADCUT4GY3VJHZMM/EDIT#GID=1751753356

ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20230409194508/HTTPS://DOCS.GOOGLE.COM/SPREADSHEETS/D/1T3GO35BZCVI8EKQ9318JBUQ6ND7UADCUT4GY3VJHZMM/EDIT#GID=1751753356

DATE=2023

Summary of Tables (weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20230408201908weblink">archive) and global coal phase-out is not yet compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement>Paris Climate Agreement.SHARED ATTRIBUTION: GLOBAL ENERGY MONITOR, CREA, E3G, RECLAIM FINANCE, SIERRA CLUB, SFOC, KIKO NETWORK, CAN EUROPE, BANGLADESH GROUPS, ACJCE, CHILE SUSTENTABLE >TITLE=BOOM AND BUST COAL / TRACKING THE GLOBAL COAL PLANT PIPELINE

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ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20230407125552/HTTPS://GLOBALENERGYMONITOR.ORG/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2023/03/BOOM-BUST-COAL-2023.PDF

DATE=5 APRIL 2023, live,

caption2= In parallel with retirement of some coal plant capacity, other coal plants are still being added, though the annual amount of added capacity has been declining since the 2010s.NEW COAL-FIRED POWER CAPACITY BY COUNTRY / GLOBAL COAL PLANT TRACKER >URL=HTTPS://DOCS.GOOGLE.COM/SPREADSHEETS/D/1J35F0WRRJ9DBIJHTRKM8FVPW0VSF-JV6G95U7GT-DDW/EDIT#GID=647531100

ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20230319120539/HTTPS://DOCS.GOOGLE.COM/SPREADSHEETS/D/1J35F0WRRJ9DBIJHTRKM8FVPW0VSF-JV6G95U7GT-DDW/EDIT#GID=647531100

DATE=2023, live, — Global Energy Monitor's Summary of Tables (weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20230408201908weblink">archive)}}From 2015 to 2020, although coal generation hardly fell in absolute terms, some of its market share was taken by wind and solar. In 2020 only China increased coal power generation, and globally it fell by 4%. However, in 2021, China declared that it limited coal generation until 2025 and subsequently phase it out over time.JOURNAL, Overland, Indra, Loginova, Julia, 2023-08-01, The Russian coal industry in an uncertain world: Finally pivoting to Asia?, Energy Research & Social Science, 102, 103150, 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103150, 2214-6296, free, The UN Secretary General has said that OECD countries should stop generating electricity from coal by 2030 and the rest of the world by 2040, otherwise limiting global warming to 1.5 Â°C, a target of the Paris Agreement, would be extremely difficult. Phasing out in Asia can be a financial challenge as plants there are relatively young: in China the co-benefits of closing a plant vary greatly depending on its location.JOURNAL, Wang, Pu, Lin, Cheng-Kuan, Wang, Yi, Liu, Dachuan, Song, Dunjiang, Wu, Tong, 29 November 2021, Location-specific co-benefits of carbon emissions reduction from coal-fired power plants in China, Nature Communications, en, 12, 1, 6948, 10.1038/s41467-021-27252-1, 34845194, 8629986, 2021NatCo..12.6948W, 2041-1723, Ammonia co-firing Ammonia has a high hydrogen density and is easy to handle. It can be used as storing carbon-free fuel in gas turbine power generation and help significantly reduce COâ‚‚ emissions as a fuel.WEB, January 2021, NAGATANI Genichiro, ISHII Hiroki, ITO Takamasa, OHNO Emi, OKUMA Yoshitomo, Development of Co-Firing Method of Pulverized Coal and Ammonia to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions,weblink IHI Corporation, 8 November 2021, 21 October 2021,weblink dead, In Japan, the first major four-year test project was started in June 2021 to develop technology to enable co-firing a significant amount of ammonia at a large-scale commercial coal-fired plant.WEB, 24 May 2020, Darrell Proctor, Project Will Burn Ammonia with Coal to Cut Emissions,weblink Power Magazine, 8 November 2021, WEB, 24 May 2020, JERA and IHI to Start a Demonstration Project Related to Ammonia Co-firing at a Large-Scale Commercial Coal-Fired Power Plant,weblink JERA, 13 November 2021, However low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia is in demand for sustainable shipping, which unlike electricity generation, has few other clean options.WEB, 28 September 2021, Japan Inc. ups its game in offshore wind power,weblink 7 December 2021, IHS Markit, Conversion Some power stations are being converted to burn gas, biomass or waste,WEB,weblink Uskmouth Power Station Conversion Project Update and EPP Contract Award, 5 November 2018, SIMEC Atlantis Energy, en-GB, 4 July 2019, 7 May 2020,weblink dead, and conversion to thermal storage will be trialled in 2023.WEB, 7 September 2020, Thermal blocks could convert coal-fired power stations to run fossil-fuel free,weblink Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Carbon capture Retrofitting some existing coal-fired power stations with carbon capture and storage was being considered in China in 2020,REPORT, December 2020, China's New Growth Pathway: From the 14th Five-Year Plan to Carbon Neutrality,weblink dead,weblink Apr 16, 2021, Energy Foundation China, but this is very expensive, reduces the energy output and for some plants is not technically feasible.WEB,weblink Post-Combustion Capture Retrofit: Evolving Current Infrastructure for Cleaner Energy {{!, UKCCS Research Centre|website=ukccsrc.ac.uk|access-date=4 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704183151weblink|archive-date=4 July 2019|url-status=dead}} Pollution (File:Coal power plant wastestreams - EPA.png|thumb|Coal power plant wastestreams)Coal burning power plants kill many thousands of people every year with their emissions of particulates, microscopic air pollutants that enter human lungs and other human organs and induce a variety of adverse medical conditions, including asthma, heart disease, low birth weight and cancers. In the U.S. alone, such particulates, known as PM2.5 (particulates with a diameter of 2.5 Î¼m or less), caused at least 460,000 excess deaths over two decades.The Guardian, 23 Nov. 2023 US Coal Power Plants Killed at Least 460,000 People in Past 20 Years--Report In some countries pollution is somewhat controlled by best available techniques, for example those in the EU{{Citation|title=Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1442 of 31 July 2017 establishing best available techniques (BAT) conclusions, under Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, for large combustion plants (notified under document C(2017) 5225) (Text with EEA relevance. ) |date=17 August 2017 |url=http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2017/1442/oj/eng|issue=32017D1442 |access-date=5 July 2019}} through its Industrial Emissions Directive. In the United States, coal-fired plants are governed at the national level by several air pollution regulations, including the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) regulation,WEB, Mercury and Air Toxics Standards,weblink 19 June 2019, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, D.C., by effluent guidelines for water pollution,WEB, 6 November 2019, Steam Electric Power Generating Effluent Guidelines—2015 Final Rule,weblink EPA, and by solid waste regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).WEB, Special Wastes,weblink 29 November 2018, Hazardous Waste, EPA, Coal-fired power stations continue to pollute in lightly regulated countries; such as the Western Balkans,WEB,weblink Chronic coal pollution, Bankwatch, en-US, 5 July 2019, CEE Bankwatch Network, Prague, India, Russia and South Africa;WEB, Schipper, Ori,weblink The global impact of coal power, ETH Zurich, 18 February 2019, causing over a hundred thousand early deaths each year.JOURNAL, Cropper, Maureen, Cui, Ryna, Guttikunda, Sarath, Hultman, Nate, Jawahar, Puja, Park, Yongjoon, Yao, Xinlu, Song, Xiao-Peng, 2 February 2021, The mortality impacts of current and planned coal-fired power plants in India, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, en, 118, 5, 10.1073/pnas.2017936118, 7865184, 0027-8424, 33495332, 2021PNAS..11817936C, free, WEB, Death rates from energy production per TWh,weblink 26 November 2021, Our World in Data, JOURNAL, Vohra, Karn, Vodonos, Alina, Schwartz, Joel, Marais, Eloise A., Sulprizio, Melissa P., Mickley, Loretta J., 1 April 2021, Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel combustion: Results from GEOS-Chem,weblink Environmental Research, en, 195, 110754, 10.1016/j.envres.2021.110754, 33577774, 2021EnvRe.19510754V, 231909881, 0013-9351, Local air pollution Damage to health from particulates, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide occurs mainly in Asia and is often due to burning low quality coal, such as lignite, in plants lacking modern flue gas treatment. Early deaths due to air pollution have been estimated at 200 per GW-year, however they may be higher around power plants where scrubbers are not used or lower if they are far from cities.WEB, Hausfather, Zeke,weblink Coal in China: Estimating Deaths per GW-year, 18 November 2016, Berkeley Earth, Berkeley, CA, 1 February 2020, Evidence indicates that exposure to sulfur, sulfates, or PM2.5 from coal emissions may be associated with higher relative morbidity or mortality risk than that to other PM2.5 constituents or PM2.5 from other sources per unit concentration.JOURNAL, Henneman, Lucas, Choirat, Christine, Dedoussi, Irene, Dominici, Francesca, Roberts, Jessica, Zigler, Corwin, 2023-11-24, Mortality risk from United States coal electricity generation, Science, en, 382, 6673, 941–946, 10.1126/science.adf4915, 0036-8075, free, 37995235, 10870829, Water pollution Pollutants such as heavy metals leaching into ground water from unlined coal ash storage ponds or landfills pollute water, possibly for decades or centuries.NEWS,weblink Most US coal plants are contaminating groundwater with toxins, analysis finds, Milman, Oliver, 4 March 2019, The Guardian, 0261-3077, Pollutant discharges from ash ponds to rivers (or other surface water bodies) typically include arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium, chromium, and cadmium.Mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants can fall back onto the land and water in rain, and then be converted into methylmercury by bacteria.WEB, 15 May 2015, Mercury Experiment to Assess Atmospheric Loading in Canada and the United States (METAALICUS),weblink 7 July 2020, IISD Experimental Lakes Area, Through biomagnification, this mercury can then reach dangerously high levels in fish.WEB, 2 April 2016, Researching Atmospheric Mercury and Freshwater Fish,weblink 7 July 2020, IISD Experimental Lakes Area, More than half of atmospheric mercury comes from coal-fired power plants.WEB, 8 August 2018, When a lake is better than a lab,weblink 7 July 2020, Canadian Geographic, en, Coal-fired power plants also emit sulfur dioxide and nitrogen.WEB, 4 April 2016, Acid Rain,weblink 7 July 2020, IISD Experimental Lakes Area, These emissions lead to acid rain, which can restructure food webs and lead to the collapse of fish and invertebrate populations.WEB, 12 February 2020, IISD Experimental Lakes Area: The world's living freshwater laboratory,weblink 7 July 2020, BioLab Business Magazine, en-US, Mitigation of local pollution {{As of|2018}} local pollution in China, which has by far the most coal-fired power stations, is forecast to be reduced further in the 2020s and 2030s, especially if small and low efficiency plants are retired early.JOURNAL, Tong, Dan, Zhang, Qiang, Liu, Fei, Geng, Guannan, Zheng, Yixuan, Xue, Tao, Hong, Chaopeng, Wu, Ruili, Qin, Yu, 6 November 2018, Current Emissions and Future Mitigation Pathways of Coal-Fired Power Plants in China from 2010 to 2030, Environmental Science & Technology, 52, 21, 12905–12914, 10.1021/acs.est.8b02919, 30249091, 0013-936X, 2018EnST...5212905T, 206581545, Economics Subsidies Coal power plants tend to serve as base load technology, as they have high availability factors, and are relatively difficult and expensive to ramp up and down. As such, they perform poorly in real-time energy markets, where they are unable to respond to changes in the locational marginal price. In the United States, this has been especially true in light of the advent of cheap natural gas, which can serve as a fuel in dispatchable power plants that substitute the role of baseload on the grid.WEB, EIA, More than 100 coal-fired plants have been replaced or converted to natural gas since 2011,weblink Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy, 26 May 2021, Russia channels extensive subsidies its coal industry due to its importance for export earnings, mining communities, and the oligarchs that own coal companies.JOURNAL, Overland, Indra, Loginova, Julia, 2023-08-01, The Russian coal industry in an uncertain world: Finally pivoting to Asia?, Energy Research & Social Science, 102, 103150, 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103150, 2214-6296, free, {{Request quotation|date=March 2024}} In 2020 the coal industry was subsidized $US18 billion. Finance {{See also|Fossil fuel divestment}}Coal financing is the financial support provided for coal-related projects, encompassing coal mining and coal-fired power stations.JOURNAL, Finance-based accounting of coal emissions, Environmental Research Letters, 2021, 10.1088/1748-9326/abd972, Manych, Niccolò, Steckel, Jan Christoph, Jakob, Michael, 16, 4, 044028, 2021ERL....16d4028M, 233704266, free, Its role in shaping the global energy landscape and its environmental and climate impacts have made it a subject of concern. The misalignment of coal financing with international climate objectives, particularly the Paris Agreement, has garnered attention.JOURNAL, Chen, Xu, Li, Zhongshu, Gallagher, Kevin P., Mauzerall, Denise L., 2021-10-15, Financing carbon lock-in in developing countries: Bilateral financing for power generation technologies from China, Japan, and the United States, Applied Energy, 300, 117318, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117318, 0306-2619, free, The Paris Agreement aims to restrict global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and ideally limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Achieving these goals necessitates a substantial reduction in coal-related activities.WEB, 18 January 2022, UN Chief: Phase Out of Coal Is Key Climate Priority,weblink 2023-11-03, unfccc.int, Studies, including finance-based accounting of coal emissions, have revealed a misalignment of coal financing with climate objectives. Major nations, such as China, Japan, and the U.S., have extended financial support to overseas coal power infrastructure.JOURNAL, Trencher, Gregory, Healy, Noel, Hasegawa, Koichi, Asuka, Jusen, 2019-09-01, Discursive resistance to phasing out coal-fired electricity: Narratives in Japan's coal regime,weblink Energy Policy, 132, 782–796, 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.020, 198655858, 0301-4215, The largest backers are Chinese banks under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).WEB, Crooks, Ed, 30 June 2019, The week in energy: China's coal-fired outreach,weblink 6 July 2019, Financial Times, en-GB, This support has led to significant long-term climate and financial risks and harms the objectives of reducing CO2 emissions set by the Paris Agreement, of which China, the United States and Japan are signatories. A substantial portion of the associated {{CO2}} emissions is anticipated to occur after 2019.Coal financing poses challenges to the global decarbonization of the power generation sector. As renewable energy technologies become cost-competitive, the economic viability of coal projects diminishes, making past fossil fuel investments less attractive.JOURNAL, Creutzig, Felix, Agoston, Peter, Goldschmidt, Jan Christoph, Luderer, Gunnar, Nemet, Gregory, Pietzcker, Robert C., 2017-08-25, The underestimated potential of solar energy to mitigate climate change,weblink Nature Energy, en, 2, 9, 10.1038/nenergy.2017.140, 133826185, 2058-7546, To address these concerns and align with climate goals, there is a growing call for stricter policies regarding overseas coal financing. Countries, including Japan and the U.S., have faced criticism for permitting the financing of certain coal projects. Strengthening the policies, potentially by banning public financing of coal projects entirely, would enhance their climate efforts and credibility. In addition, Enhanced transparency in disclosing financing details is crucial for evaluating their environmental impacts. Capacity factors In India capacity factors are below 60%.WEB, Boom and Bust 2021,weblink live,weblink 6 April 2021, In 2020 coal-fired power stations in the United States had an overall capacity factor of 40%; that is, they operated at a little less than half of their cumulative nameplate capacity.REPORT,weblink Electric Power Monthly, September 2021, US Department of Energy, Stranded assets If global warming is limited to well below 2 Â°C as specified in the Paris Agreement, coal plant stranded assets of over US$500 billion are forecast by 2050, mostly in China.JOURNAL, 31 May 2019, Power sector asset stranding effects of climate policies, Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 14, 99–124, 10.1080/15567249.2019.1618421, Saygin, Deger, Rigter, Jasper, Caldecott, Ben, Wagner, Nicholas, Gielen, Dolf, 4, 191757913,weblink In 2020 think tank Carbon Tracker estimated that 39% of coal-fired plants were already more expensive than new renewables and storage and that 73% would be by 2025.REPORT, How to Retire Early: Making accelerated coal phaseout feasible and just,weblink June 2020, Carbon Tracker, {{As of|2020}} about half of China's coal power companies are losing money and old and small power plants "have no hope of making profits".WEB,weblink The Path Ahead for China's Coal Power Industry, hellenicshippingnews.com, 23 January 2020, {{As of|2021}} India is keeping potential stranded assets operating by subsidizing them.WEB, 29 March 2021, There's no way out for India's stranded thermal power assets,weblink 7 December 2021, Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, en-US, WEB, Mapping India's Energy Subsidies 2021: Time for renewed support to clean energy,weblink 7 December 2021, International Institute for Sustainable Development, en, NEWS, Power freebies show pitfalls of electoral politics,weblink 7 December 2021, The Times of India, Politics File:Protest of Greenpeace with coal in front of the German Chancellery 03.jpg|thumb|Greenpeace protesting against coal at the German ChancelleryGerman ChancelleryIn May 2021, the G7 committed to end support for coal-fired power stations within the year.WEB, 21 May 2021, G7 commits to end support for coal-fired power stations this year,weblink 23 July 2021, euronews, en, The G7's commitment to end coal support is significant as their coal capacity decreased from 23% (443 GW) in 2015 to 15% (310 GW) in 2023, reflecting a shift towards greener policies. This contrasts with China and India, where coal remains central to energy policy.{{Rp|page=11}}As of 2023, the Group of Twenty (G20) holds 92% of the world's operating coal capacity (1,968 GW) and 88% of pre-construction capacity (336 GW).{{Rp|page=11}}The energy policy of China regarding coal and coal in China are the most important factors regarding the future of coal-fired power stations, because the country has so many.WEB,weblink China struggling to kick its coal habit despite Beijing's big climate pledges, David Culver, Lily Lee and Ben Westcott, CNN, 29 September 2019, 20 October 2019, According to one analysis local officials overinvested in coal-fired power in the mid-2010s because central government guaranteed operating hours and set a high wholesale electricity price.WEB,weblink China overinvested in coal power: Here's why, Ren, Mengjia, Branstetter, Lee, 16 March 2019, VoxEU.org, 6 July 2019, Kovak, Brian, Armanios, Daniel, Yuan, Jiahai, In democracies coal power investment follows an environmental Kuznets curve.JOURNAL, Urpelainen, Johannes, Zucker, Noah, Clark, Richard, 11 April 2019, Political Institutions and Pollution: Evidence from Coal-Fired Power Generation, en, Rochester, NY, 3370276, The energy policy of India about coal is an issue in the politics of India.WEB, Indigenous residents protest huge coal mine plan in India,weblink 11 October 2020, Eco-Business, 9 October 2020, WEB, Unleashing coal: inside India's plans to open up commercial coal mining,weblink 11 October 2020, mining-technology.com, September 2020, Protests In the 21st century people have often protested against opencast mining, for example at Hambach Forest, Akbelen Forest and Ffos-y-fran;WEB,weblink Successful Protests Against India's Coal Industry, Ch, Aruna, rasekar, 26 September 2017, Climate Tracker, en-US, 6 July 2019, 15 May 2020,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20200515232913weblink">weblink dead, WEB,weblink Hundreds of climate protesters stage blockade in German coal mine, Matthew Robinson, CNN, 23 June 2019, 6 July 2019, and at sites of proposed new plants, such as in KenyaNEWS,weblink Row over Kenya World Heritage site coal plant, Leithead, Alastair, 5 June 2019, 6 July 2019, en-GB, and China.NEWS, 2012-10-22, Chinese protesters clash with police over power plant, en-GB, The Guardian,weblink 2023-09-10, 0261-3077, See also Powering Past Coal Alliance Global Energy Monitor {{Clear}} References {{Reflist}} External links Coal fired power plant Energy Education by the University of Calgary How a coal plant works video by the Tennessee Valley Authority How a coal plant works video by Ontario Power Generation Electricity from coal by the World Coal Association World's coal power plants mapped by Carbon Brief End Coal {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501101418weblink |date=1 May 2022 }} by various environmental, social justice and health advocates Coal-fired power by the International Energy Agency weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190629141848weblink">Economics of coal by Carbon Tracker Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air {{World topic|prefix=List of coal-fired power stations in|title=List of coal-fired power stations by country|noredlinks=yes|state=expanded}}{{Authority control}}