Coal

Coal-fired powering up in China, south Asia

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Coal-fired power continues its sustained and even growing hold in developing nations.

News reports indicate that China and India are both ramping up coal-fired generation capacity despite environmental concerns globally. A story on the QuartzIndia website cited India Ratings and Research figures showing that nation importing up to 73 million metric tons of coal in the current fiscal year ending March 2020.

If the current pace of coal imports holds sway, the growth would be about 19 percent year over year, the highest annual rise in five years, according to the story. Several coal-fired power generators in India have preferred to stick with their resource, raising tariffs to deal with higher prices.

A story in the South China Post reported that China will increase investment in fossil-fuel power projects in southeast Asia even as outside financiers back away over sustainability worries. Another report earlier this year in Engineering & Technology, citing a newer study by several environmental watchdogs, claimed that China could add 290 GW of new coal-fired capacity this year-that is more than 10 percent higher than the entire U.S. existing coal-fired generation fleet of about 261 GW.

 India’s neighbor Bangladesh also is banking on more coal-fired power, according to the Dhaka Turbine in June. A United Nations report stated that Bangladesh is planning to triple its coal-fired generation capacity to more than 18,000 MW and 35 percent of its electricity mix by 2041.

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The Future of Coal-fired Generation will be one of the content tracks happening at POWERGEN in the Summit. The track will feature three 90-minute sessions on various aspects of coal-fired power, featuring both utilities, engineering firms and consultants.

POWERGEN also will feature tracks on Optimizing Plant Performance and the Future of Conventional Power Knowledge Hub.