UK or Russian coal - that's the question
- 15 August 2014 18:24270726Energy customers prop up 'coaligarchs' by £1bn a year. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/utilities/article4163658.ece
Coal imported from both Colombia and Russia travels thousands of kilometres by land and sea routes, with a carbon footprint from overseas coal mines to UK power stations that is 294 times higher than that of the indigenous supply.
Recent estimates provided by Coalpro suggest that CO2 emissions would be many times higher to deliver coal from Russia to Drax Power Station compared with using the local supply from Hatfield Colliery. Of course, the greatest element of coals' carbon footprint is in its combustion, but the avoidable transport footprint of coal is massively greater than for UK supplies.
Extension of these figures to compare over 40 million tonnes of coal imported from both Colombia and Russia in the past year with the equivalent produced from the remaining deep mines in the UK, indicates that imported coal transport emissions at 7.3 million tonnes of CO2 is 294 times higher than that of the indigenous supply.
Steam coal - suitable for use in steam production to generate electricity - represented about 89% of total coal imports in 2012. Over 96% of UK steam coal imports came from just three countries in 2012 - Russia, Colombia and the USA.
04 Aug 2014, by Philip Pearson in Environment"My New Year's Resolution, is to try and emulate Marek's level of chilled out, thoughtfulness and humour towards other forumites and not lose my decorum" - 15 August 2014 21:57270741Carbon footprint. LOLOLOLOL.
I wouldn't mind if it were not for the fact that Drax is being converted to burn, er, don't laugh, sustainable wood from the USA.
Carbon footprint. Do they sell those in Sports direct? - 16 August 2014 07:11270744There are clean-coal burning plants nowadays, so the "dangers" of burning fossil-fuels is minimised.
Gary, were the mined just closed, or were they filled in so they couldn't be used again ? Maybe some were and some weren't ?
With so much coal under our own ground, it does seem against all logic not to be using it.
Roger - 16 August 2014 08:45270749Well my feeling about coal are well know.
We should reopen our own mines bring with it 1000s of jobs and trades we sit on the best coal in the world and would last 500years or more.
And today it could be done very safe. - 16 August 2014 09:16270752PhilipP.
As usual you have missed the point of the thread, I will give you a clue, its in the "Title"
Roger.
All the pits in Kent were filled in but that is irrelevant anyway, that was just a statement of authority by the tories who shut them.
There is still 9 Billion tons of high quality coal left underground in Kent.
Kent coal is14 times higher calorific value than notts coal.
To open new collieries today, you would not go to the sites of the old pits, as all of the coal has been mined from around the shafts,except at Snowdown.
I think Paul & Charlie think I am being mischievous when I say the best concentration of coal is around St Margaret's bay but that is the truth and a drift mine there could be a possibility.
See this link if you don't believe me. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/features/how-coal-is-making-a-comeback-in-yorkshire-1-6783904"My New Year's Resolution, is to try and emulate Marek's level of chilled out, thoughtfulness and humour towards other forumites and not lose my decorum"
