Merrimack Station in Bow, N.H., New England’s last coal-fired power plant, lives. The two-unit plant finally passed a particulates emissions test that will keep the plant running. The plant owner operators, Granite Shore Power, had been trying for over a year to pass the test.
Nor was the event a complete success. According to New Hampshire Public Radio, only one of the units passed, “raising questions about how the plant will operate over the winter and in the years until it’s scheduled to stop burning coal.” The plant will have to operate without its smaller unit until it can pass the test.
The plant is elderly. The 113.6-MW first unit went into service in 1960, while 345.6-MW unit 2 fired up in 1968. Originally owned by Public Service Company of New Hampshire, Granite Shore Power acquired Merrimack Station in 2018 as a result of a state-ordered divestiture. Granite Shore plans to mothball both units in 2028.
The plant is symbolic of what is happening to coal-fired power plants in the U.S., as generators have been driven for decades to limit conventional pollutants, plus more recently carbon dioxide air emissions, and by abundant and low-cost natural gas. In 2000, according to the Energy Information Administration, coal generated 2 trillion kilowatt-hours of U.S. electricity, followed by nuclear at 754 billion kwh, gas at 600 billion kwh, renewables (mostly hydro) at 356 billion kwh, and oil at 124 billion kwh. In 2023, coal had declined to 675 billion kwh (16% of the total); gas had risen to 1.8 trillion kwh (43%), nuclear had barely budged to 775 billion kwh (19%); renewables had shot up to 894 billion kwh (21%), driven by solar and wind; oil had slumped to 32 billion kwh (0.8%).
The fading of coal has not been confined to the U.S. In England, where coal powered the 19th Century industrial revolution, the BBC reported on September 30, a Friday, “The UK is about to stop producing any electricity from burning coal – ending its 142-year reliance on the fossil fuel. The country’s last coal power station, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, finishes operations on Monday after running since 1967.”
In 1882, Thomas Edison built the world’s first coal-fired electric generating plant in London, the Holborn Viaduct power station, which began operating on Jan. 12. Edison’s Pearl Street Station in Manhattan fired up Sept. 4, 1882, the first coal-fired plant in the U.S.
But coal around the world isn’t down and out. Much of the developing world, particularly India and China, remain committed to coal. Steelmaking still relies on coking coal for its fundamental processes. Oilprice.com recently reported, “Report upon report sings praises to energy transition efforts that are leading to record wind and solar electricity generation. Outside the spotlight, however, things look very different. There, coal remains king—and this is not about to change anytime soon.”
India’s coal-powered generation fell slightly in August and September. But India’s imports of metallurgical coal surged for the first six months of this year, driven by higher steel production. China’s coal production has been climbing, and coal accounts for 60% of the country’s electric power production. Oilprice.com commented, “Both India and China have stated quite plainly that they will not be following the example of the UK and shutting down any coal power plants in the observable future. Both India and China have officially prioritized energy supply security and affordability over emissions, even as they both pursue a more diverse grid.”
“In 2023, global coal production reached its highest ever level, beating the previous high set the year before.”
According to the 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy, “In 2023, global coal production reached its highest ever level, beating the previous high set the year before. The Asia Pacific region accounted for nearly 80% of global output with activity concentrated in just four countries: Australia, China, India, and Indonesia (jointly responsible for 97% of the region’s output). China alone was responsible for just over half of total global production.”
On the consumption side, according to the report, “An increase of 1.6% over 2022 was seven times higher than the previous ten-year average growth rate. Whilst China is by far the largest consumer of coal (56% of the world’s total), in 2023 India exceeded the combined consumption of Europe and North America for the first time ever.”
Coal trade is also healthy: “Overall, international coal trade increased by almost 10% in 2023 reaching its highest level since 2018. Indonesia, Australia, and the Russian Federation were jointly responsible for around 70% of total global exports with Indonesia alone accounting for around 40% of that (over a quarter of total global exports)…. Overall, the Asia Pacific region accounted for 82% of global coal imports. Europe’s imports fell to their lowest level since 2000.”
Oilprice.com commented, “Ironically, it is coal power that is essentially fueling the energy transition. Coal power provides the cheap energy that Chinese and other Asian manufacturers of wind and solar components and equipment—not to mention EVs—use to keep their products cheap. Also ironically, the surge in demand for electricity from data centers will quite likely add a boost to coal demand in some parts of the world where natural gas is not as cheap as it is—for now—in the United States.”
–Kennedy Maize
To comment: