“roads decarbonization the planet is not in a straight line. The energy crisis in Europe highlighted the mismatch between the decline in fossil production capacity and variable renewable energy.” Comments are from Gary Nagle, CEO of Glencore company, owner of Asturiana de Zinc (Azsa). The world is looking at coal again. With the “dirty” mineral, the Swiss giant posted a net profit of $12,085 million in the first half, which is 846 percent more than in 2021. However, Spain and the Principality remained adamant in their decision. not restarting the coal industry. Although gas prices and drought have weighed on fuel in the energy mix, Spain continues to buy coal from abroad. He refuses to remove it, but involuntarily wants to burn it.
This year, as predicted by the International Energy Agency, aims to be the year of the highest coal demand in history with 8.000 million tons due to the war in Ukraine and Russia’s gas price maneuvers. The agency’s report on the world’s coal situation states that the global total will equal the annual record set in 2013.Demand will increase further next year“ marks a new maximum tied to the Chinese economy in 2023. Asia remains by far the largest coal consumer worldwide.
Asturias is already withdrawing from the game, which has once again become “black gold”. At the height of Asturian mining in 1958, there were 110 coal companies and 55 companies dedicated to the extraction of anthracite in the region. 7,904,765 tons of coal were mined in 1961, a figure that national mining has never been able to reach again. The first major crisis in the industry came in the 1960s and led to the establishment of Hunosa, a conglomerate of loss-making coal companies, in 1967. The workforce peaked two years later, in 1969, with 26,590 workers. Only Hunosa owns a small coal-fired fort in Pozo San Nicolás, better known as “Nicolasa”. He came already in the seventies downhill peaked in 2018.
Today, in Asturias, the small thermal power plant La Pereda (Hunosa) is in the 3rd phase of the Soto de Ribera plant. give way to hydrogen. Lada and Narcea thermals are now completely out of service. Almost all of the coal that continues to be burned in the Aboño and Soto de Ribera groups has been coming from countries like Australia or South Africa for years. This is because imported coal is cheaper and better quality than national. Only La Pereda operates with national generation feeding the scarce 50 MW installed power.
The sudden increase in demand for coal and the sanctions imposed on the Putin regime destabilized the market. For years, the raw material, discredited by its high CO2 emissions, has prompted many companies to divest, close wells, and liquidate companies dedicated to extraction. this decline in supply and market conditions quadrupled coal prices in just one year. It’s currently over $300 a tonne and futures on the Australian benchmark for this drop are over $400. Glencore’s results show that coal is big business today.
With the emergence of the gas crisis and the publication of the European Commission’s ‘Repower EU’ plan to increase the weight of coal in the energy mix, Asturian unions launched a small offensive demanding the reopening of coal. mines. The answer was an emphatic “no” by the central government, by the Vice-President Teresa Ribera, and by the Principality Government.
However, although the Government claims that the Commission’s gateway to European countries was made on a temporary basis and with northern provinces more exposed to Russian gas, Spain also fuels coal burning. The weight of dirty ore in the energy mix continues to increase. In Asturias alone, coal was the main energy source, accumulating 45.8% of the total energy produced during the four months of the year. The weight of coal has increased by 160% this year, surpassing the combined cycle in the national panel. And the dynamic is being repeated across Europe.
Source: Informacion
Calvin Turley is an author at “Social Bites”. He is a trendsetter who writes about the latest fashion and entertainment news. With a keen eye for style and a deep understanding of the entertainment industry, Calvin provides engaging and informative articles that keep his readers up-to-date on the latest fashion trends and entertainment happenings.