Energy and geopolitics, two always intertwined realities, present powerful paradoxes at times. Just as all Western countries are moving towards a renewable energy future, high gas prices caused by ukraine war world demand for Coal. According to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), everything points to the fact that in 2022 mineral consumption will increase by 1.2% from last year to exceed 8,000 million tons for the first time. This panorama captures Asturias, a region that was historically a coal miner, in full transformation of its industrial and energy pattern, where the mineral’s black color is increasingly becoming a relic of the past.
IEA forecasts fossil fuel demand in the European Union to increase by 6% this year, Germany is leading the way in this flashback: it will use 10 gigawatts (GW) of coal capacity. The country plans to abandon the mine by 2038, but the mine is still an important resource in the German energy system.
“The world is near its peak in fossil fuel use and coal will be the first to decline, but we’re not there yet,” he said. Keisuke Sadamori, Director of Energy Markets and Security at the IEA. “Demand for coal is resilient and will likely hit an all-time high this year, increasing global emissions,” he warned.
And that’s not all: The IEA predicts that the high level of consumption will continue into 2025 as the decline in Western economies will be offset by the purchases of giants such as: Chinese or Indian.
In this context, in Asturias, which had 110 coal companies at the end of the 50s, only III. Soto de Ribera and groups I and II To go past (all belong to EDP). But most of the minerals burned by these plants have come from other countries such as Australia or South Africa over the years.
The Soto de Ribera factory, which was closed for most of 2019 and announced that it will be closed in 2020, was re-opened in 2021 and is currently operational, although it was planned for this year. Still active in Aboño. EDP’s plans for both are to convert them into production and storage facilities. hydrogen produced with renewable resources. The project is being reviewed by the central government before it can qualify for European funding.
Another of the latest mining emblems is the central curtain (Mieres), owned hundreds of. At the same time, it has plunged into a metamorphosis towards a forest biomass plant with an installed capacity of 50 megawatts. The coal company has entered a new tender for the transformation, which will take 21 months and cost 45 million euros.
Source: Informacion
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