Coal Boom: 1600 new plants in 62 countries around the world – increasing 43%

“End-Coal” Global Coal Tracker  does a magnificent job of showing how essential coal is around the world, and which countries are pathetically backwards in developing new coal plants. It’s probably not what the “CoalSwarm” team was hoping to achieve, but this map is a real asset to those of us who want to show how tiny Australia’s coal fired assets are compared to the rest of the world. The site itself is a fancy-pants high gloss major database and website that also shows how much money is in the “anti-coal” movement. Oh, that skeptics should have even 2% of these funds. Heffa Schücking, the director of Urgewald, which created the maps, calls it a “cycle of coal dependency”. Normal people call it “freedom and wealth”.

Chinese companies build coal plants — NY Times

These Chinese corporations are building or planning to build more than 700 new coal plants at home and around the world, some in countries that today burn little or no coal, according to tallies compiled by Urgewald, an environmental group based in Berlin. Many of the plants are in China, but by capacity, roughly a fifth of these new coal power stations are in other countries.

Over all, 1,600 coal plants are planned or under construction in 62 countries, according to Urgewald’s tally, which uses data from the Global Coal Plant Tracker portal. The new plants would expand the world’s coal-fired power capacity by 43 percent.

“Even today, new countries are being brought into the cycle of coal dependency,” said Heffa Schücking, the director of Urgewald.

Coal plants operating and planned for China and Japan

This map undersells the enormity of Chinese coal. Look at the number of turbines in some circles, 46, 56, 77, 167!

New and Current coal fired power plants, China, Japan, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in China and Japan (Click to Enlarge)

Coal plants operating and planned for USA and Canada

The largest number of turbines in one place is 28.

New and Current coal fired power plants, USA, Canada, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in USA and Canada (Click to Enlarge)

Closed or cancelled coal fired power in the USA and Canada

Closed, cancelled, retired, coal fired power plants, USA, Canada, Map.

Closed or cancelled coal fired power in the USA and Canada (click to enlarge)

Coal plants operating and planned for Australia and New Zealand

The two in SA are in Whyalla (not Port Augusta). But the 18 in Victoria include Hazelwood’s turbines, so the map is not entirely up to date. Tell us again how shutting down coal stations in Australia will change storms, floods and cyclones in 2099?

In NZ coal use this week has doubled as the hydro dams dry up. h/t Greg from NZ

New and Current coal fired power plants, Australia, New Zealand, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in Australia and New Zealand (Click to Enlarge)

Closed or cancelled in Australia and New Zealand

***

Closed or cancelled coal fired power in Australia and New Zealand (click to enlarge)

Coal plants operating and planned for Europe

***

Operating or new coal fired plants in Europe (Click to Enlarge)

A continent in decline — look at how many have closed or been cancelled in Europe — Ouch!

Closed, cancelled, retired, coal fired power plants, Europe, Map.

Cancelled, shelved, or retired coal fired plants in Europe (Click to Enlarge)

Coal plants operating and planned for Eastern Europe

New and Current coal fired power plants, Eastern Europe, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in Eastern Europe (Click to Enlarge)

Coal plants operating and planned for India

India plans to double coal mining by 2020. One ‘dot’ here has 100 turbines.

New and Current coal fired power plants, India, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Click to Enlarge)

Coal plants operating and planned for Russia and Eurasia

New and Current coal fired power plants, Eurasia, Russia, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in Russia and Eurasia (Click to Enlarge)

 

Coal plants operating and planned for SE Asia

The yellow dots mark the new announcements. The number of turbines is low, but growing fast. Obviously there is a lot going on in SE Asia. Indonesia has doubled its coal consumption since 2010.

New and Current coal fired power plants, SE Asia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in SE Asia (Click to Enlarge)

Coal plants operating and planned for Africa

The saddest map of all.  The total population of the whole of the 58 African countries is at 1.15 Billion people, and probably close to 600 Million people or even more have no access whatsoever to any electrical power. TonyfromOz shows how 22 African nations don’t even use as much electricity as the small town of Dubbo (pop. 40,000) in Australia.

New and Current coal fired power plants, Africa, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in Africa (Click to Enlarge)

Coal plants operating and planned for Latin America

New and Current coal fired power plants, Latin America, Map.

Operating or new coal fired plants in Latin America (Click to Enlarge)

h/t Pat and El Gordo, GWPF.

9.7 out of 10 based on 84 ratings

72 comments to Coal Boom: 1600 new plants in 62 countries around the world – increasing 43%

  • #
    Yonniestone

    Wow the India & China maps really show how much investment they’ve put into coal while getting a free pass from the IPCC (if it actually mattered) Ka-Ching!

    It would be interesting to see how many people have access to reliable base load power compared to pre-development times.

    121

    • #
      Yonniestone

      Found a PDF Government Of India Power Sector Jan-2017 Ministry of Power Central Electricity Authority New Delhi
      gives a complete rundown of India’s power grid, hydro is covered but no mention of wind or solar.

      All India Village Electrification & Pumpsets Energised as on 31.1.2017, Villages electrified 98.75%,

      Note: From the year 2004-05 onwards Definition of Village Electrification:-
      A village would be declared Electrified if,
      i) Basic Infrastructure such as Distribution Transformer and Distribution lines are provided in the inhabited
      locality as well as Dalit Basti / hemlet where it exists. (For electrification through Non-Conventional Energy
      Sources a Distribution Transformer mat not be necessary)

      Electricity is provided to Public places like Schools, Panchayat Office, Health Centre, Dispensaries,
      Community Centres etc. and
      iv) Mandatory Certification from Gram Panchayat regarding the completion of village electrification should be
      obtained.
      13. Average cost of Power & Average Realisation
      iii) The number of households electrified should be at least 10% of the total number of households in the village
      *Disclaimer: The data included in monthly Progress reports of Village electrification published by CEA is
      provisional in nature as Indicated in all the reports. The data in the report prior to October, 2015 was
      Updated every month based on the information received from states/distribution utilities as and when
      reported but the data for all the states for a particular month was generally not made available
      simultaneously to reflect the countrywide picture for a particular month. Number of total villages and
      number of electrified villages have also been adjusted for changes observed from Census 2011 data. As
      such, each monthly report of Village electrification of CEA is independent of the earlier published reports
      11. T & D and AT&C Losses (%)
      12. All India Village Electrification & Pumpsets Energised as on 31.1.2017
      Villiages Electrified (Nos.) as on 31.1.17
      590898 * 98.75
      % Villages electrified
      15. All India Coal consumption for Power Generation (MT)
      520
      14. All India per capita consumption of Electricity ( KWh) #
      Average Revenue Realization(paise/unit)
      20648398
      Pump sets Energised as on 31- 01-17
      Average cost of supply(ACS) (paise/unit)
      i) Basic Infrastructure such as Distribution Transformer and Distribution lines are provided in the inhabited
      locality as well as Dalit Basti / hemlet where it exists. (For electrification through Non-Conventional Energy

      71

    • #

      Australia was effectively a third world country before the first settlers arrived and started to develop the riches of this land. We may well revert to that earlier status in the not too distant future and that may be an opening for another, somewhat different, group of first settlers.

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        A third world country is defined as,

        A Third World country is a country whose views are not aligned with NATO and capitalism or the Soviet Union and communism. The use of the term “Third World” started during the Cold War and was used to identify which of three categories the countries of the world aligned with. The First World meant that you aligned with NATO and capitalism, and the Second World meant you supported Communism and the Soviet Union.

        Considering we’re moving towards the second world scenario a collapse and rebuild towards a proper first world model might be a good option.

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        • #

          That definition could well be right at the time, but I do suspect that the vast majority in the world would associate ‘Third World’ to mean the developing world, aka the majority of Africa, Eurasia, parts of Asia etc.

          Tim Flannery said that Perth would become the first abandoned city in the world (or was it just Australia?) due to climate change; South Australia could well become the first Australian state to become a third world basket case due to climate change insanity.

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          • #
            Crakar24

            That’s a lot of climate change (policy induced) refugees

            50

          • #
            Mark D.

            Little did we know that the “human displacement due to climate change” would not be caused by actual climate change but instead be from the reaction to futile attempts at preventing climate change.

            50

      • #
        David Maddison

        Chinese would be the likely next group of settlers to take over from our more primitive ways. No society that has relied on wind or sun for its energy has ever lasted long when superior energy sources were available.

        142

  • #
    Dennis

    Meanwhile, in Australia …

    60

  • #

    We need to do a Merkel: talk the green but dig the brown. (She actually used to be smart, in an Eastern Europe kind of way.)

    We could tell the world our New Coal is so lite I can’t believe it’s not solar. Or say it’s an anti-nuke protest ’cause we’re so shocked by Fukushima. Or say it’s just a brief transition to a sustainable whatever forever, like Angela did. (Of course, everybody needs Germany to keep producing, so they’ve been keeping the carbon price in the toilet for her – er, I mean the Free Market has been deciding it’d better stay down there or else.)

    Get the journos on side. Just say anything but bang on a lot about the planet thingy. Maybe hire this sheila to sell the idea:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J138HPgD_ZM

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    • #
      Peter C

      Brilliant mosomoso!

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      • #
        Peter C

        I meant brilliant idea to talk the Merkel talk.

        But the YouTube was brilliant also. IS Tracy Ullmann a closet conservative?

        50

    • #
      Radical Rodent

      Actually, coal (of whatever colour) is light; like oil and gas, it is solar energy collected and transformed into a storable, easily transportable, flexible-usage form. Mother Nature/Gaia/call it what you will has had plans for us all along, having spent millions of years preparing for us. Anyone ignoring such largesse is insulting the Great Goddess Gaia, and really should look out for themselves – like all gods and goddesses, when slighted, their retribution can be dire.

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      • #
        Raven

        That’s an excellent idea, Rodent.

        We should be promoting coal as ‘God given’.
        If God had wanted us to use windmills, he’d have buried long spindly blades ‘n’ stuff in the ground.

        I’m an atheist, so none of this matters much to me . . but I know a marketing angle when I see one.

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  • #
    el gordo

    A Silk Road to prosperity.

    ‘A Kenyan company known as Amu Power is preparing to erect a $2 billion coal power plant, the first of its kind in East Africa.

    ‘Financed with Chinese, South African, and Kenyan capital, and built by the state-owned Power Construction Corporation of China, the plant is intended to add 1,050 megawatts of capacity to Kenya’s national grid and power operations of an adjacent 32 berth deep-water port. Both are part of an ambitious government plan to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country by 2030.’

    National Geographic

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  • #
    King Geo

    Those Global Coal Plant Tracker Maps should be a magnet for investment. Those areas with few Coal Plants to be avoided wrt economic investment – Singapore excepted. So as Australia closes its Coal Plants expect Economic Oblivion to prevail with SA being the “Flagship Basket-case Economy in Oz” – a place where only imbeciles would invest their hard earned dollars. Even WA is getting rid of its single Coal Plant at Collie – at least it has reliable gas fired power stations.

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  • #
  • #
    Rick Will

    The data is out of date. It shows Hazelwood as operating. I am reasonably certain it is still closed although SA might like to have it open tomorrow morning as wholesale price heads north of $500/MWh. On second look maybe not. The umbilical cord to Vic will be at its limit.

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  • #

    Germany should be our example of how you can save an economy with double-talk. Brown coal, black coal, combustible waste and imported Russian gas are now coupled with “renewables” and called “efficiency”. Germany’s future is “efficiency and renewables”.

    This is essential to the nation’s survival as economic powerhouse. In August 2016 Germany’s black coal-fired capacity was 18% of power, brown coal was 24%, gas was 14%. Nuclear still provides 14% (that’s right, they kept it running, content to just damage the industry for now). There is also a lot of electricity from burning other stuff, and Russia is itching to double up on gas sales via the North Stream (depending on how certain wars go).

    So that’s how Germany, with total EU manipulation of the carbon price, can afford all those solar panels at 50+ degrees north. Unlike South Australia, they use the renewables as expensive decor and continue their successful Mittelstand business as usual. And these are people who really can build canoes.

    110

  • #
    RobertR

    Wait for it! A senior climatologist at the BOM has just said that “There is a long term trend linking (high pressure systems in the Great Australian Bight) to climate change” These high pressure systems, it was explained, have been responsible for no wind in South Australia lately!!!! and “Global Warming” was making these wind stopping high pressure systems more common. This ‘explains’ the slowest wind conditions in some places of South Australia slashing wind generation, pushing average South Australia electricity prices for the June quarter up to $116 per/MWh from $81/MWh in the previous year June quarter the report in the Australian said.
    Now they are blaming higher electricity on climate change lol……….really!!!

    212

    • #
      RobertR

      I knew climate change caused wealth for some but I wasn’t aware that it was also the real reason behind stratospheric electricity prices too!

      112

      • #
        Yonniestone

        Wasting public money on inadequate, inefficient asshat power generation is another good reason.

        60

    • #
      el gordo

      BoM has known for over a decade that the intensification of the STR is a global warming signal, caused by industrial CO2, but obviously nobody was listening.

      So yes, it appears the warmists have the upper hand on this one.

      40

      • #
        Crakar24

        I beg to differ, our sun is in a slump and along with it its usual level of activity. One such aspect is a drop of over 10% of UV. Less UV means less interaction with O3, this affects the jet streams which in turn changes the position of the polar and Ferrell cell boundaries. Of course the BOM internal training packages only discuss CO2 speculation

        62

    • #
      Peter C

      RobertR,

      Can you send the link. I am meaning to write an unsolicited submission to the Sandiland committee reviewing the BOM ACORN Sat.

      In Autumn particularly the high pressure systems drift North and bring us fine weather and NO WIND. This year it is extending into winter. Nothing that unusual as far as I can tell.

      61

      • #
        el gordo

        The high pressure belt is travelling too far south for this time of year.

        50

      • #
        RobertR

        The article was on page 17 and page 20 of the Business review section of the Australian, Tuesday July 4th issue. Sorry I don’t have a link for you as I read the article titled “Lack of wind blows out power costs” in the actual newspaper. Cheers

        60

    • #

      The new way is to spend billions mainstreaming an old, feeble niche technology dependent on wind…and then learn about wind. (Something to do with intermittencies, daily, yearly, decadal…but that’s no reason to give up.)

      Just be patient. It’s taking a while for the penny-farthing bicycle. (Something to do with centre of gravity…but that’s no reason to give up.)

      70

    • #
      R2Dtoo

      I’ve been waiting for the climate change/renewable blame game. Next will be that climate change will alter cloud distribution, causing reduction in solar output. They certainly know how to make excuses for every aspect of the failed meme.

      40

      • #
        el gordo

        ‘Next will be that climate change will alter cloud distribution…’

        A quiet sun means more cosmic rays are striking earth, which produces increasing low level cloud and reduces the effectiveness of solar panels.

        I only found out the other day that high cirrus clouds are just as bad when it comes to generating energy.

        10

  • #
    Geoffrey Williams

    ‘Global Coal Plant Tracker’- I don’t know much about this site but it is highly informative and for us here it comes as little surprise. However, I’ll bet that most people in this country are unaware of the site and as such haven’t a clue as to what is going on out there in the real world regarding the development of Coal Fired Power. But Australians should be extremely concerned about it, and indeed frightened by it’s ramifications. We are being left behind in terms of world economy development and the Australian public are being led like lambs to economic slaughter! Turnbull and his government should be ashamed for their aquiesance to the leftist green ideology now rampant in our once great country.
    GeoffW

    120

  • #
  • #
    Bodge it an scarpa

    Tried copy and paste of Japan/China map to Facebook, but only the text comes through !
    Any advice on how to do it ?

    40

    • #
      David Maddison

      Save the image first?

      40

      • #
        Bodge it an scarpa

        Cheers David. I just discovered the ‘tinyurl. thingy. And it opens up a whole new world of sharing information for an internet numpty like me. Lol

        20

  • #

    Well, that’s a little strange.

    I was in the middle of making a Post for my own home site, and half way through, I checked in here at Joanne’s site, and she has a similar Post to what mine was.

    I actually toyed with the idea of dumping my own Post, but while it is along similar lines, I think it gives a different perspective.

    I finished mine off, and scheduled it for 6.30AM U.S. Eastern, so 8.30PM here Eastern.

    If any of you want to have a look, here’s the link.

    1600 New Tech Coal Fired Power Plants Planned For Construction – Everywhere But Here

    Tony.

    151

  • #
    David Maddison

    In the “minds” of the warmists why are they “only” aiming for say, 45% “renewables” and not 100%? If unreliables are so wonderful, what is holding them back, according to their strange interpretation of reality?

    60

  • #
    David Maddison

    I am going primitive.

    As the assault on the basic technologies of Western Civilisation continues, I have recently felt the desire to:

    A) Do experiments making my own charcoal.

    B) Today I installed an incandescent light globe to burn 24/7. To people outside Australia this may seem strange but incandescent light globes are prohibited for sale in Australia except for specialist ones designed for ovens and perhaps other specialist applications. This was an old one so legal and hopefully the Klimate Gestapo won’t kick down my door at 3am.

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    • #
      Bodge it an scarpa

      For lighting in my bush dwelling I use 12volt LED down lights powered by an old ex CFA fire truck battery that I used to be able to buy from the local CFA workshops in perfectly serviceable condition for $20 each until the EPA started requiring proof that the batteries were disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. Anyway, battery charge lasted at least 4 times longer on LEDs than incandescent or Halogen 12v globes of similar brightness.

      20

      • #
        Bodge it an scarpa

        Will be working on building a wood gas producer if the cost of LPG, that runs my fridge, stove and hot water service rises too high. Will then power those facilities from 240volts from a wood gas fuelled 240v generator.

        30

        • #
          Graeme No.3

          Wood gas? Are you proposing to use anaerobic pyrolysis of wood to make something that burns, as in the wet dreams of various 100% ‘coal free’ greenies? Their idea of “an environmentally friendly” fuel and mine are quite different – speaking as someone with 5 years in Chemical Health and Safety. Too many nasties in the liquid and a lower heat output, not to mention that it can be corrosive to stainless steel.

          A combined wood fired stove and hot water service is/was common. A wood fired boiler /generator with waste heat recovery in hot water might be an idea you might consider.

          20

          • #
            Bodge it an scarpa

            No, just a wood gas producer like farmers used on their tractors etc during WW2 when petrol was rationed and for military/ essential services use only.

            10

            • #
              Graeme No.3

              Interesting. I had almost forgotten about that. Does seem more orientated towards a portable energy supply for vehicles, and operating (and maintaining) the equipment seems to have hazards.
              http://www.woodgasifierplans.com

              What you are aiming for looks OK but I would query the overall efficiency. As TonyfromOz keeps reminding us higher efficiency means less fuel use, which means less wood to cut, store, dry etc.
              Forget my silly idea above I was close to sleep, but I wonder if you have thought of a Stirling engine driving a generator to charge up batteries, and then using that power via an inverter for household use? Stirling engines are the “darling” of alternative dreamers but they can achieve 45-50% efficiency at temperatures in a wood fire. Further the exhaust heat could be used to heat water. This would eliminate the carbon monoxide and residual tar in gasifiers.
              There is a lot of over-enthusiastic claptrap about Stirling motors available, particularly for mobile use, but they are quiet and can be used directly on a wood fire, as the Coast Watchers found in WW2. They had commercially produced motors – Philips I think. You would lose about 13% in the charge-discharge cycle with the batteries but the storage aspect would supply continuous electricity with intermittent firings. How much dry wood have you available?

              10

              • #
                Bodge it an scarpa

                Cheers, will look into your other suggestions.
                I am on 44 acres consisting mainly of Stringy Bark and Peppermint Gums, Ti Tree and Black Wattle. Since the 2009 Black Saturday bush fires I have thousands of dry standing dead trees, so aside from my own labour in maintaining equipment, efficiency is not really an issue. I am retired anyway,living a quiet life under the radar as it were,so time is not really a problem either.
                Kurtz Johannsen, Who started the Roadtrain business shortly after WW2, using ex military Diamond T Tank transporters covered many hundreds of thousand miles in his old wood gas fuelled Fargo and Federal maintenance vehicles, travelling to where those road trains occasionally broke down,so maintenance of his home built gas producer wasn’t too problematic. I also read of a family that were travelling around AUS in a wood gas fuelled Transit van camper. Apparently the Chinese are manufacturing wood gas producers in various sizes for sale on eBay, but as you’ve noted there are plans available online to make one’s own unit basically from junk one tends to have lying around rural sheds.

                30

  • #
    bullocky

    “1600 new plants in 62 countries around the world”

    Imagine how many Malcolm PV8s you could run on that lot.

    LEAVE THE OIL IN THE GROUND!
    (s)

    20

  • #
    pat

    it should be criminal that ABC gets a billion-plus dollars a year from the taxpayers of this country, but will not inform them of the truth regarding coal-fired power plants worldwide.

    how’s this ***CRAPPY piece? incredible Murray makes these statements.
    also compare the piece with how ABC covers Adani.

    29 Jun: ABC: Rio Tinto’s NSW coal mines taken over by China-backed Yancoal
    By business reporter Carrington Clarke
    Rio’s shareholders in the UK and Australia were called to vote on this deal because of Yancoal’s position of “influence” over Rio.
    The Aluminum Corporation of China (also known as “Chalco”) is Rio’s largest shareholder, whereas Yancoal, is ultimately owned by the Chinese Government.
    “Long-term, China has always been interested in acquiring energy assets outside of the country,” J Capital’s Tim Murray said…

    Fortunately for Yancoal, it has a local subsidiary — listed on the Australian stock exchange — which made it easier to meet Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) regulations.
    ***Although China is investing heavily in renewables, the Yancoal-Rio deal shows the world’s second largest economy still wants to lock down coal assets.
    The majority of the coal from the Hunter Valley is sold to South Korea and Japan, which is China’s strategic rival.

    With Yancoal in control of the mines, it can decide who gets to buy the coal.
    “I think there’s a distinct possibility that the output from these mines could be diverted to China,” Mr Murray said.
    But if Yancoal starts selling coal to China for a cheaper price, it could fall foul of Australian law.
    “Yancoal is still a listed company here in Australia, and it has an obligation to its shareholders to extract maximum rent for any product it sells,” Mr Lawcock said.
    “So it’s very difficult for it to sell to one party at a lower price when another customer is offering you a much higher price.”…

    At the end of the day, Rio Tinto is probably the biggest winner from this deal.
    “Rio would be rubbing its hands together thinking ‘thank God I finally got rid of those ***crappy thermal coal assets’,” Mr (J Capital’s Tim) Murray said.
    “It’s a great deal — if we can always sell our sort of ***crap assets, we need to recycle to Chinese SOEs (state-owned enterprises), why not?”
    It certainly is a better deal than just giving them away.
    This story will be on The Business at 8:30pm (AEDT) tonight on ABC News 24 and ABC iview.
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-29/rio-tinto-nsw-coal-mines-taken-over-by-china-backed-company/8664914

    ABC makes sure they mention China “is investing heavily in renewables”, but no mention of the hundreds of coal-fired power plants China is building.

    Tim Murray is the go-to guy for all our media on matters relating to China. most articles say J Capital Research is Beijing-based, but Bloomberg says Hong Kong.
    a little more detail:

    Bloomberg: Company Overview of J Capital Research Co. Ltd.
    Key Executives (click on names for bios):
    Mr. Tim Murray, Co-Founder, Managing Partner and Compliance Officer
    Ms. Anne Stevenson-Yang, Co-Founder and Research Director ETC
    https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=108414556

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  • #
    pat

    ***is it any wonder many Australians believe coal is on the way out?

    1 Jul: Australian: Alan Kohler: Let’s export education and technology, not coal
    The Carmichael mine would be the biggest export coalmine in the world ***at a time when coal’s future is, to say the least, under a cloud…

    The (Australian Education City, Werribee, Victoria) will cost $30bn to build over 20 years and would end up housing between 80,000 and 100,000 people in more than 30,000 mostly medium-density dwellings…
    It is likely to be self-contained in energy, with solar panels on every roof and biomass generation from waste, although it would also be connected to the grid for backup, and would be the world’s first fully “cognitive city” — that is, with everything connected via the internet and the data managed by artificial intelligence…

    Too good to be true? Maybe. But trying that instead of another massive coalmine would seem to be a no-brainer. Both the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the Opposition Leader and member for coal, Tony Abbott, should get behind it.
    Chair of the Leigh Creek Progress Association, Tammy Roach, agreed the atmosphere had improved.
    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/alan-kohler/lets-export-education-and-technology-not-coal/news-story/a0a2fd5b801bade5ae5c2d52163f463b

    FakeNewsMSM is the problem.

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  • #
    pat

    4 Jul: Reuters: Exclusive: Indian utility bets $10 billion on coal power despite surplus, green concerns
    By Sudarshan Varadhan and Neha Dasgupta, NEW DELHI
    India’s state-run power utility plans to invest $10 billion in new coal-fired power stations over the next five years despite the electricity regulator’s assessment that thermal plants now under construction will be able to meet demand until 2027.

    In the first phase, India’s biggest power producer, NTPC, plans to build three new plants with a combined capacity of more than 5 gigawatts (GW), nearly double the capacity of those currently being phased out, five senior company officials said.
    The company has not made the investment public because it has not yet received government approval.
    If approved, the plan could set back efforts by the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter to control carbon output and raise questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vow to stand by commitments under the Paris climate accord…

    As connections improve, the panel reckons, the country’s per-capita power consumption could jump around a third to up to 2,924 kilowatt-hours by 2040 from 2012 levels…
    In the next decade, the around 50 GW of capacity from thermal plants due to come online by 2022 will meet demand, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said. Additional supplies will come from sources such as solar and wind, it said…

    Around 78 percent of generated power in India at the moment still comes from coal-fired plants, however, making it one of the biggest users of the dirty and cheap fuel in the world.

    Carbon dioxide emissions from India’s thermal plants are expected to jump to 1,165 million tonnes by 2026/27 from 462 million tonnes in 2005, the CEA estimates. Emission intensity, measured in carbon dioxide emissions versus GDP, is likely to fall, however…

    NTPC’s proposal is likely to be greeted with alarm by environmental activists who are already worried by the CEA’s statement that existing power plants are unlikely to meet India’s emission norms before the Paris deadline of December this year…
    http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSKBN19P1NC

    who cares what “environmental activists” think? they have not been elected to represent anyone, so why include their “concerns” in every article, Reuters?

    so far, only CNBC and Euronews are carrying this Reuters’ report.

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  • #
    pat

    subscription required for both:

    3 Jul: Handelsblatt Germany: Attack on the Renewable Energy Tax
    The transition to renewable energy has pushed up power prices for consumers and businesses. The German Chambers of Commerce and Industry are demanding reform.
    by Klaus Stratmann
    PHOTO CAPTION: Is the sun setting on Germany’s renewable surcharge?
    J.G. Knopf’s & Sohn’s services are in demand in a number of industries. The company from Helmbrechts, a town in northern Bavaria, dyes and coats fabrics, everything from uniforms to car seat upholstery. It’s one of the many thousands of industrial Mittelstand companies in Germany that successfully compete on the world market and make an essential contribution to Germany’s economic success. But some complain the price of electricity is damaging their competitiveness.

    J.G. Knopf’s & Sohn’s annual electricity bill comes up to €400,460, or $459,968. But only €77,160 of that goes to actually generating and supplying electricity. The rest, Euros323,000, is made up of state-imposed taxes and levies. The levy from the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) alone is Euros137,600. J.G. Knopf’s & Sohn’s competitors outside Germany have no such burden – at least not on this scale…
    https://global.handelsblatt.com/companies-markets/attack-on-the-renewable-energy-tax-791249

    4 Jul: Handelsblatt Germany: Public Utilities in Trouble
    Public utilities are struggling with digitalization and the switch to green power. A very different landscape will emerge from a period of consolidation and reinvention.
    by Jürgen Flauger & Klaus Stratmann
    The analysis was as ruthless as it was overdue. Chief executive Susanna Zapreva told the supervisory board that Hanover’s public utility was struggling with both digitalization and the transition to green energy…

    Ms. Zapreva says Stadtwerke Hanover has a lot of catching up to do on all three. Coal accounts for 77 percent of the power it supplies, compared to just 14 percent from renewable energy sources…
    With close to €2 billion ($2.27 billion) in revenue, Stadtwerke Hannover is one of Germany’s largest public utilities. Many of the country’s other 900 or so local utilities — or “Stadtwerke” — face similar analysis…

    Competition from subsidized renewables, low wholesale power prices, and the shift to a more intelligent, decentralized system have hit Germany’s energy giants hard. RWE and E.ON have both split their traditional power generation and new renewable and digital activities into separate businesses.

    But municipal utilities and regional energy suppliers are coming under pressure, too, as analysis by Euler Hermes Rating shows. The independent European rating agency predicts financial indicators for two-thirds of Germany’s public utilities will “deteriorate considerably” by 2020…
    https://global.handelsblatt.com/companies-markets/public-utilities-in-trouble-791876

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      TdeF

      “J.G. Knopf’s & Sohn’s annual electricity bill comes up to €400,460, or $459,968. But only €77,160 of that goes to actually generating and supplying electricity. The rest, Euros323,000, is made up of state-imposed taxes and levies.”. So 80% ripoff for windmills and solar?

      They could not afford to move to Australia where the figure is 90%.

      I would challenge anyone to prove that the world is better off in any way for all the 350,000 windmills. The sole target is CO2 and that is going up steadily and in no way correlated with man’s CO2 output. It is simply a measure of ocean surface temperature, as you would expect. The converse idea that the CO2 is somehow heating the oceans does not make sense to anyone, but it is what we are being asked to believe. The truth is obvious and always was.

      Now we are told windmills are cheaper. Someone thinks the public will believe anything. Wind is free? Sunshine is free? That is so patently absurd it hardly bears repeating. Everything has a cost.

      Meanwhile politicians rig and rob our electricity payments for their own socialist agenda, a devastating attack on democracy. Worse than Germany this money goes entirely to third parties, largely outside the country in the billions. At the same time we are being told that rocketing electricity prices are due to capitalism, the energy ‘market’. Frankly even Tony Abbott is reluctant to do anything more than ‘cap’ the RET scheme.

      No, repeal the RET. Destroy it. No carbon taxes. At the same time put the ABC/SBS on the market. We do not need a State Media. Any reason to have an ABC or SBS is utterly gone and everyone knows it, especially the people who are employed there. Foxtel is cheaper than the ABC and at least we have a choice.

      If Tony Abbott gets his job back, he has nothing to lose putting an extreme agenda to the public before the election. His days of pussy footing around the senate are gone. He has to tell the Australian public what he will do to fix the problem and what they have to do to fix the senate. Forget polls. When was the last time they were right? Brexit, Donald Trump, Tories. The idea that 75% of Liberals prefer Malcolm must be sponsored by Malcolm. Liberals are fleeing in their thousands.

      The anger in the community is obvious and even former Green supporters in SA in particular are wondering why their government is crucifying poor people for nothing, shutting the power off every month for thousands of poor families because they cannot afford it even in sunny Australia. In the forest, farmers are not allowed burn wood or build dams. Cossetted bureaucrats control your lives as in Brussells. Forget Pink Batts. The RET dwarfs it and you do not even get pink batts.

      It is about time politicians recognized they were elected to represent people and to act wisely, not just attend parties and spend beyond our means and in our interest. This RET has to stop. If Abbott gets back, put what we need to the Senate and have them vote it down and go to a double dissolution which matters. We are heartily sick of one seat governments and smug politicians.

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    Lionell Griffith

    I think it is now clear that we are in the middle of World War Three. As before, ideas make the difference. However, now the ideas ARE the weapons and not so much hardware and ordnance. This war is an intellectual, philosophical, and moral one with the west essentially being disarmed. People act according to the ideas they hold. Good ideas win over bad idea. Bad ideas win over no ideas. The west has lost the ideas that made it “the west”.

    Once the west held the power of good ideas: individualism sustained by the ideas of individual rights being superior to the group and government being limited to only the defense of those individual rights. The notion that individuals should be free to keep the fruits of his mental and physical efforts and freely exchange them with willing others held a primary position.

    Today it is the group, the team, the community, the nation, the earth that has rights with the individual sacrificing himself to the collective. Then, if the individual doesn’t willingly sacrifice himself, his person, his life, and his property is to be subject to boundless confiscation. One only need to have the intent to benefit the sacred other and any act is justified without respect to its consequence.

    If you object to being self sacrifical, you are held to be an evil monster and labeled “selfish” and are required to feel guilty. Guilty for wanting to live, to be free, to have your own thoughts, to be productive, to sustain your own life by your own actions, and to limit your interactions with others only to those that are mutually voluntary and beneficial.

    It is only life that makes the concept of the good possible. A living thing must act according to its nature and the nature of reality to continue to live. A non living thing need not act. It simply is until acted upon by sufficient external forces.

    Thus it is life itself that is the standard of the good with evil being the negation of life. Here then is the core of our challenge. We must rediscover the ideas that are life giving and sustaining. We must reassert their power and abandon the unearned guilt of merely wanting to live, to think, to produce, and to be free. This would be the start of being able to overcome the bad ideas that now seem to rule the world.

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      Lionell Griffith

      On this 4th of July, the words of Patric Henry take on new meaning: “Give me liberty or give me death”. That meaning is that without liberty, there is only death. The death may not be instantaneous but it will be sure. It will be consumed by the sacred other.

      He who is free, never submits. He who submits, was never free. Stay free!

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        Roy Hogue

        And celebrate this holiday. It’s the one holiday set aside to be a joyous celebration. So along with remembering what we’re all about in America, eat, drink, be merry and watch, safe fireworks displays.

        Happy 4th to every one in the USA. 🙂

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      Roy Hogue

      And Lionell, You’re wrong on one point unless I misunderstand you. We’re full of ideas but they’re the wrong ones. And nothing sticks around longer than a bad idea. Nothing!

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        Roy Hogue

        Bad ideas have won over many, many people.

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          Lionell Griffith

          The reason that bad ideas win in the short run is that they are easily accepted without thought, reflection, or deep understanding. However, they never end well. Good ideas require a deep understanding to know they are good. It takes sustained thought and reflection to keep them alive and to reap the good they can achieve. That is why we must rediscover and reassert the good ideas.

          Bad ideas don’t have power by themselves. It is the refusal to think and to stay grounded in reality that results in the bad consequences. We forget there is no such thing as a free lunch at our own peril. The goodness in life has to be earned.

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            Roy Hogue

            Just remember what I said. Bad ideas tend to stick around a long time. Even when the Titanic was sinking it was hard for Captain Smith to believe his unsinkable ship was going down. At the White Star Line they couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that a single iceberg sank their pride and joy.

            That fool in Venezuela is still trying to keep his dictatorship alive along with its central planning of every aspect of life. Yet nowhere on Earth has that ever succeeded. But still he tries to bail out the water from his sinking ship.

            Peace! And enjoy the holiday.

            Roy

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              Lionell Griffith

              As I said, it is the refusal to think and to stay grounded in reality that results in the bad consequences. This was the cause of the two examples you give.

              The only cure I know is to stop trying to save such people and allow them fully to experience the destiny they have chosen. They need to experience the hard wall of reality, full speed, spread eagle, face front. Then, if they survive, they must be the ones to put themselves back together. Meaning, allow the Darwin Effect to exact its price.

              The holiday I experienced was wall to wall fireworks (both legal and illegal) from mid afternoon to almost midnight. The sounds greatly disturbed the dog I was taking care of. The time was not so peaceful.

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                Roy Hogue

                Sorry I didn’t get back here until the 11th but I agree about letting them hit the wall full speed and all that. The only problem is to avoid having them take us with them. I don’t bounce very well off brick walls doing 100 MPH. 😉

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    Dave in the States

    Yup, the future is coal and/or natural gas for electric power production. When I saw that Japan was planning 42 HELE plants, it proved that the MSM narrative; that the world was going to renewables and we all need to get with the program, was a big fat lie. Looking at these data, it’s no wonder Merkel and the EU are so cranky lately and so angrey with Trump. They have lead their nations to ruin as they lost touch with reality and fell in with the AGW fools. And it all won’t matter anything to the climate one way or the other in hundred years. Oh what fools!

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    Ross

    I hope the Australians on this site have all forwarded copies of this to their MP’s, the PM , Tony Abbott, Pauline Hanson and anyone else who should have their eyes opened wide.

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    […] – Coal Boom: 1600 new plants in 62 countries around the world – increasing 43%:  […]

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