Proposed coal projects around the world will quadruple the current capacity of all coal-fired plants in the US. The World Resources Institute (WRI) released a report in November titled, Global Coal Risk Assessment. The report found that there are 1,199 new coal power plants in the works, totaling more than 1.4 million megawatts of capacity worldwide.
To put this in perspective, 1.4 million megawatts is four times the capacity of all the coal-fired power plants in the US. The world's leading coal powered nations going forward are China, Germany and India, all of which are increasingly active in transnational coal-fired project development.
China is the world largest coal consumer and they are expected to increase their usage until 2020, when demand is finally expected to level off. India continues to rely on coal and by 2025 that country is expected to overtake the U.S. as the number two consumer of coal. Coal demand has shifted from the Atlantic market to the Pacific market.
Although coal projects are planned in 59 countries, seventy-six percent of the coal plants are proposed for India and China. The US ranks seventh in coal power plant development.
Although there have been significant increases in natural gas extraction, coal continues to be used in the US and around the world. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, the global coal trade rose by 13.4 percent in 2010, reaching 1,083 million tonnes.
According to the IEA, coal supplied nearly half of the increase in global energy consumption over the last decade, growing faster than renewables. And the agency predicts that coal will continue its rise in the decades ahead.
To view the locations of proposed coal-fired power plants by country in an interactive map click here.
© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
Related Articles
Warning from the International Energy Agency: The World's Ongoing Reliance on Fossil Fuels Crushes Hopes of Averting Climate Change
PricewaterhouseCoopers Climate Change Warning
International Renewable Energy Institute Climate Warning
World Meteorological Organization Climate Warning
Scientist Warn Time is Running Out to Avert a Climate Catastrophe
World Banks Warning: We Need to Act Now on Climate Change (Video)
World Bank Climate Change Warning
UNEP Warning: We are on The Brink of a Climate Catastrophe
World Bank Report Warns of A 4°C World
Comprehensive Review of the Science on Anthropogenic Climate Change
10 Charts on Climate Change
September 2012 was the Warmest in Recorded History (NOAA)
Strong Body of Evidence for a Changing Climate
American Meteorological Society Corroborates Anthropogenic Climate Change
More Scientific Support for Anthropogenic Climate Change
Science and Pernicious Ignorance of Climate Change Denial
The Fifth Global Environmental Outlook Report
A New Study Indicates We Are Reaching a Tipping Points
Environmental Tipping Points
Climate Change Science
Top Four Climate Studies of 2011
State of the Climate Global Analysis Nov 2011
Interactive Map Reveals Warmer Spring 2012
2012 is but the Latest Year Marked by Heat and Drought
Heat in the US Northeast and Drought Around the World IN 2012
Temperature Data: 1880 - 2011 (Video)
New NASA Video Graphically Illustrates that the Earth is Warming
Popular Media is Distorting the Facts about Climate
State of the Climate Global Analysis Nov 2011
Debunking CO2 Myths and The Science of Climate Change
Primer on CO2 and other GHGs
Video: Why People are Confused about the Scientific Veracity of Climate Change
Bill McKibben: Global Warming's Terrifying New Math
The Effects of Global Warming
Home
Carbon Dioxide
climate change
CO2
Coal
dirty energy
energy production
Global Warming
greenhouse gases
growth
new
power
power plants
World Resources Institute Warning About New Coal Plants
- Blogger Comment
- Facebook Comment
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
0 comments:
Post a Comment