Coal as power feedstock meets with resistance

By V L Srinivasan

Muscat, Jan 25: Expressing concern over the environmental and health impact of setting up coal-fired power projects in Oman, members of the Shura Council and other delegates at a seminar on 'Using Coal For Power Generation in the Sultanate of Oman' sought to know whether coal should be the fuel when there were enough gas and oil reserves in the country.

“Why should we trust coal. Did the studies find that it was suitable for Oman or for the entire region. Even if it is suitable, should we imitate the West in setting up coal-based power plants. Why import coal when we have gas reserves to generate power?” they said during discussions in the first session of the two-day seminar organised by the Ministry of National Economy (MoNE) on Sunday.

Asserting that they were aware of the risks related to coal based power plants, Council members said the country was not ready for experiments. “We trust the stakeholders. But if His Majesty the Sultan has ordered the plant, we will follow the instruction,” they said and wanted to know if the consultants, who were commissioned to study the feasibility of the coal-based project had visited the proposed site at Duqm.

However, H E Nasser Khamis al Jashmi, Undersecretary of Ministry of Oil & Gas, said that the government has not taken any decision on setting up the coal-fired plant and the seminar was organised to elicit the opinions of experts. The government was also studying other sources like solar and wind and it was not in a position to supply gas to all power projects. “The study relates not only to coal but also looks at all other alternatives,” he said.

Clarifying doubts raised by the participants, speakers - Brain Ricketts (coal analyst at International Energy Agency), Dr Guy Doyle (chief economist at Mott Macdonald Group) and John Evans (project manager of the Medupi coal power project in South Africa) - said that coal as fuel for generating power was cheap compared to liquified natural gas (LNG) and other means.

“We have not included the carbon cost and carbon penalty like in the European Union. If that was made part of the study, thecoal would equal LNG. Hence, economically coal looks like a good deal,” they said.

The sultanate can export gas which has great demand internationally while coal is cheaper. “The cost implications on bio-diversity and global warming cannot be priced and it is a political decision whether to take the risk or not,” they added.