8 comments on The return of coal?
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8 comments on The return of coal?
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GAIA Host Collective
very simple.
a lot of political milage is available for arguments about premature North Sea depletion, the miners and Thatcherism if revisiting the past is your sort of thing.
is the UK capacity for coal production geologically constrained?
Boris
london
How much you want to pay, what landscapes you want to strip, How deep the mine, how much water you have to pump etc.
Like oil, the low hanging fruit got picked first.
A lot of lower grade coals, technically complex areas etc, still abound.
Coal is currently becoming attractive, and as the price of oil increases, it will remain attractive as the energy benefit increases against extraction cost per tonne.
We produce about 50% of our electricity using coal.
Emmission reductions, HSE compliance etc looked like this dependence would reduce over the next 10 years. However the price of gas and the security of supply, coupled with decommissioning of nukes makes it increasingly likely that the UK will remain dependent on coal for years to come.
A few mines were mothballed on a care and maintainance basis over the last couple of years.
The big problem may be getting hold of the skilled workers and engineers required.
But dont rule coal out
Have we any data on a possible projection of capacity correlated to price or the such like?
the lack of miners? how adaptive is a economy to this sort of thing
does the gov/dti have strategic scenarios for the reintroduction of a coal industry/ is that a stupid question?
here is a question
are there command economy blueprints laying about the place?
Boris
london
It is 20 years since the miners strike. A lot of expertise has been lost. I would think we would have to turn to Poland.
Anyway, looks like we will need to learn how to shovel coal into our cars:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4941262.stm