Pipelines, energy and natural resources

[daftandbarmy]

Three words to rehabilitate the reputation of nasty, stinking, polluting old coal?

Sounds like you know what you're talking about when it comes to the industrial use of coal.

You'll also probably know, then, that we'll be using coal forever because that's how much of it there is. Canada rakes in billions annually from our metallurgical coal sales, mainly to China.

The technology now used to scrub the emissions is resulting in a huge drop in CO2 and other pollutants.

It's by no means perfect, and there are ongoing struggles with various regulatory regimes (India, we're looking at you) , but it's getting better.

And even China's on board, implementing whole of sector AI managed processes optimizing production and emission controls, which is good because they're building dozens more coal fired power facilities to build our cheap stuff.

It's the environmental success story no one hears about because: 'ew, coal'




1. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), power plant emissions in the U.S. continued to decline in 2023, with sulfur dioxide (SO2) down 24%, nitrogen oxides (NOx) down 15%, mercury down 17%, and carbon dioxide (CO2) down 7% from 2022 levels—even as power generation fell just 2%. Compared to 1995, SO2 and NOx emissions have dropped by 95% and 89%, respectively. Source: EPA

Delays, Rollbacks, and Diverging Paths: The Global State of Power Plant Emissions Controls

In recent years, analysis of the world’s power plant emissions appears to have centered largely on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), mainly because carbon dominates global accounting frameworks and climate goals. In

www.powermag.com

 

[YZT580]

Have you been to any of the central African states such as Kenya or Uganda? The primary cooking fuel is home-cooked charcoal. The sulfur and nitrogen levels are through the roof. Supplying them with coal from Cape Breton would be a godsend and would reduce pollutants significantly. All these talks about wind and solar and even gas are great for those of us who can afford the luxury but the rest of the world would be getting a step up if we would only send them coal.