It could be defined as the silent majority. While there’s a lot of talk going on about renewable sources and nuclear is being vigorously discussed, coal still is, and will continue to be, the world’s leading electricity generation source. What’s more, Medium-Term Coal Market Report 2011 published by the IEA found that over the next 5 years the global demand of coal will increase further.
The IEA reported that from 2010 to 2016 average coal consumption will increase by over 600,000 tonnes per day. Almost equivalent to the increase that was registered in the 2000-2010 decade, which was almost 720,000 tonnes per day.
The main reason is the significant economic development in the main emerging countries, firstly China and India. In fact, great amounts of coal are available and it is economical. In short, it’s a rapid solution to favour industrial competitiveness. The only disadvantage is the high carbon dioxide emissions.
Since it cannot be realistically envisaged that coal will be abandoned, probably not even in the very long term, the path towards emission reduction is innovation. The most promising technological developments regard highly efficient coal plants, like the one Enel manages in Civitavecchia, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, that Enel is experimenting in its Brindisi pilot plant and is planning to develop at Porto Tolle.
The growing global demand will obviously affect markets. Indeed, new countries (like Mongolia and Mozambique) will become exporters along with the traditional ones (Indonesia, Russia, Australia, South Africa and Colombia).
