EU looking at coal as main source of power

By V L Srinivasan

Muscat, Jan 30 : Coal will play a significant role in the future energy scenario of the European Union (EU) and remains its stable source of energy as a complement to oil and gas as well as renewables, said a senior official in the directorate general for energy and transport at the European Commission.

However, the biggest challenge facing the EU is coal’s relatively higher carbon dioxide emissions compared to other fossil fuels, said Eero Ailio, deputy head of coal and oil policy in the directorate.

By the next two decades, EU will have to import 95 per cent of oil, 84 per cent of gas and 63 per cent of coal for generating power to meet its demand. Coal's share of energy consumption is 18 per cent and proportionally least exposed to import dependency. The EU's coal production was 146mn tonnes of hard coal, of which 43 per cent is consumed for energy.

He said that with dwindling domestic resources, the EU will have to look at coal as it is not only a cheap alternative but also contributes one-third of the power generation in EU, which is also its third largest importer.

“In this context, discussions are under way in the EU among the stakeholders on how best to use the indigenous hard coal and lignite resources with due respect to the imperatives of environmental and economic sustainability,” Ailio told Muscat Daily on the sidelines of a two day seminar on 'Using Coal for Power Generation in the Sultanate of Oman.'

Some of the key issues identified during the deliberations are transparency in coal inventory, public awareness and acceptance of coal production and its use in power generation.

The two strategic energy reviews undertaken by the EU during the last three years have initiated a new concept of an integrated climate change policy through which all member countries are expected to reduce greenhouse gases by 20 per cent, scale up renewable energies by 20 per cent and also improve energy efficiency by 20 per cent by 2020, he said.