The true cost of coal

"Coal burning contributes more to climate change than any other

fossil fuel. Coal-fired power stations pump vast amounts of CO2

into the atmosphere each year, 11 billion tonnes to be precise.

This amounts to 72% of CO2 emissions from power generation

and 41% of total global emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels."

Greenpeace has released a great report: 'the true cost of coal'  looking at the true cost of using coal for electricity generation.  It takes  a good look at coal use throughout the world, and some of its current and future affects to the environment. Some of the key points I took out of the report were:

• Coal use is our single biggest emitter of CO2
• Coal is used for 40% of the word's energy supply - and expected to rise
• The true annual cost of coal use has been estimated at EUR360 billion in 2007 - with an estimated 150,000 deaths! That would pay for 3 times our total current level of wind energy - in a single year.
• Australia has a dirty history with coal, being the world's largest exporter, and relying on coal-fired power stations for 80% of its energy supply. 
• Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a false promise from the coal industry, with more of a focus on diverting public attention away from coal's current and future impact. CCS is not expected to be commercially available until at least 2030, and even this is technically unproven, will drastically increase the cost of coal-fired power generation, and it is still unsure how all this CO2 will actually be stored safely underground... for ever. The sooner we drop this red herring the better.   

My next article will focus on both the: Greeenpeace Energy Revolution blueprint to radically reduce CO2 emissions; and the IPCC assumptions for energy supply for the various scenarios. And what this means for wind energy.