COAL, NOT CHEAP AND GETTING NOT CHEAPER

New Report Shows Days of Cheap, Affordable Coal-Fired Power Are Over; Escalating costs, increasingly-competitive clean energy alternatives, emerging ‘OCEC’ cartel make new coal plant investments risky

June 28, 2012 (Sierra Club)

“…Locked In: The Financial Risks of New Coal-Fired Power Plants in Today’s Volatile International Coal Market…[from the Sierra Club] challenges the traditional view that coal is a cheap and reliable energy option for countries around the world. At a time when coal-fired power is at a historic low in the US and the EU, the report warns of developing countries locking themselves into coal plant investments that face significant financial risk from rising costs.

“Authored by Bruce Buckheit, former Director of the EPA’s Air Enforcement Office, the report… highlights the rising costs of coal plant construction, rising global coal prices, and the emergence of an ‘Organization of Coal Exporting Countries’ (OCEC) -- all of which make electricity from coal-fired power plants inherently risky and unaffordable for countries around the world…”

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“According to the report, the primary factor affecting the viability of coal-fired power plant projects is increasing costs. Construction cost overruns of up to 100% have become common-place while coal prices continue to rise around the world. The latter is exacerbated by…a highly concentrated global coal market…Australia and Indonesia…account for more than 50% of global coal exports…[C]oal plant investments in China and India retain maximum exposure to these cost fluctuations which puts significant pressure on profit margins, making them extremely risky investments…

“Compounding these problems is the opportunity cost of the alternative – clean, renewable energy. Leading competitors such as wind energy and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are experiencing plummeting prices and rapidly becoming competitive with coal fired power. The report documents that the cost of power from solar PV has fallen by over 60% since 2008, while new wind power can provide energy at 5-10 cents/kWh, making it competitive with coal in any market…”

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