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Brief thread on coal power generation in Alberta.
(Not to be conflated with today& #39;s news about AB govt opening up lands for coal mining -- that is most likely for met coal, not subbituminous thermal for power generation)
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(Not to be conflated with today& #39;s news about AB govt opening up lands for coal mining -- that is most likely for met coal, not subbituminous thermal for power generation)
[1/4]
First off, power generation from coal plants.
I& #39;ve noted this several times previously, but coal power is plummeting in AB. Being replaced by wind (a little) and NG (a lot). Here are the last 5 years of monthly generation from coal plants.
I& #39;ve noted this several times previously, but coal power is plummeting in AB. Being replaced by wind (a little) and NG (a lot). Here are the last 5 years of monthly generation from coal plants.
Next, coal production.
If AB coal power is dropping but we& #39;re just shipping the stuff overseas, well that& #39;s no good for CO2 reduction. Good news, we& #39;re not. While we export met coal (and may do more), thermal subbit coal is almost exclusively burned locally. It& #39;s plummeting too.
If AB coal power is dropping but we& #39;re just shipping the stuff overseas, well that& #39;s no good for CO2 reduction. Good news, we& #39;re not. While we export met coal (and may do more), thermal subbit coal is almost exclusively burned locally. It& #39;s plummeting too.
Lastly, and this is for the real power nerds, we can divide one by the other to see the average "heat rate" - how much coal is burned to produce a MWh of power.
It& #39;s falling!
Why? Could be old inefficient plants retiring. But my bet: "coal" plants running partly off NG already.
It& #39;s falling!
Why? Could be old inefficient plants retiring. But my bet: "coal" plants running partly off NG already.
