July 2015
|
World Coal
|
71
I
f the decision was based purely on cost and convenience,
coal would have a very rosy future in Europe. However,
although coal is cheap and widely available, it is facing
serious challenges in the form of current and impending
emission legislation. These challenges can be overcome, as
evidenced by the ultra‑clean and efficient plants being built in
China and Japan. Modern coal plants can offer diversification
of fuel supply away from oil and gas and provide a bridge to
a future energy system based on renewables. The
diversification of the energy sector throughout the EU is
currently the muddled outcome of fuel cost and availability,
emission legislation, environmental policies and national
sustainability concerns. However, while many of these issues
are variable, emission legislation is relatively permanent.
The evolution of emission standards to reduce air
pollution in Europe has been somewhat piecemeal and,
recently, disjointed and confusing. In order to simplify and
align the legislation addressing similar objectives for
emissions from all stationary sources, the Industrial
Emissions Directive (IED) has been formed from a medley of
seven different EU directives. However, for coal‑fired utilities,
it is basically an amalgamation of two directives – the Large
Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD) and the Integrated
Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC). While the
ThE ChaLlENge
FOr CoAl iN
Dr Lesley Sloss FRSC FIEnvSci, IEA CCC, UK,
discusses IED compliance
and its impact on coal-fired power in Europe.
EuROpe
