20 July 2016, The Guardian, Why is the World Bank backing coal power in Europe’s youngest country? In the early days of December 2015, as the Paris climate talks veered off course and off schedule, the US secretary of state John Kerry left his team of negotiators and flew to Kosovo to voice his support for a proposed US-built, World Bank-sponsored coal power station. Speaking alongside the prime minister, Isa Mustafa, Kerry told reporters at Pristina airport that the Kosovo e re (New Kosovo) plant would help the tiny, impoverished country do “its part to contribute to this global effort of nations who are committed to dealing with climate change” by replacing an extremely high-polluting cold war-era power plant. Kerry then returned to Paris and helpedland a deal intended to bring the fossil fuel era to an end. While many countries, including the US, continue to build coal plants at home, the fuel is increasingly a pariah in the world of development finance. Both the USand the World Bank have limited international finance for new coal power to exceptional circumstances – so rare that Kosovo’s is the only coal plant being considered for World Bank support anywhere on Earth. Despite this, Kosovan government officials are confident they will receive final approval from the World Bank when the project goes before its board, likely later this year. Strong advocacy is expected from the US delegation. Read More here
Tag Archives: coal
19 July 2016, Renew Economy, Frydenberg’s choice: Make a big step forward, or a big step back. The make-up of Australia’s new parliament cut a depressing vista on Monday. There was Pauline Hanson, demanding royal commissions into Islam and climate science, who along with other minor party and independent Senators will most likely hold the balance of power in the Senate, with as many as 7 seats but a minimum of 3. In the government, the Coalition led by Malcolm Turnbull has elevated more conservatives to the front bench. Zed Selseja, a conservative who opposes gay marriage and weekend penalty rates, is minister assisting social services.Hanson gave us a taste of what is to come in an extraordinary debate on ABC’s Q&A, which was punctuated with the sort of ignorance and ideology we often see in the energy sector – see South Australia. Matt Canavan, a conservative who dismisses climate science, is appointed resources minister responsible for the coal industry and building dams in northern Australia. Be under no doubt about Canavan: the only energy that matters to him, he has said often, is cheap energy, dirty or not. Read More here
24 May 2016, Renew Economy, Debt-ridden India energy group drops mention of Galilee Basin projects. India energy group GVK Power & Infrastructure last weekend reported its year-to-March 2016 results, detailing its fourth consecutive annual loss, but it’s most telling component is the information it did not provide. Its accounts make no mention of the Alpha, Alpha West and Kevin’s Corner coal mines and associated infrastructure proposal for the Galilee Basinin northern Australia —projects GVK has long been promoting, and which it bought its controlling share from the Hancock group. The company is in financial distress. Net debt increased US$435 million to a record high of US$3.5 billion. In contrast, shareholders equity shrank 30 percent year on year to US$202 million. Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) covered just 36 percent of the US$321m of net interest expense for 2015-16. Into its sixth year, the Alpha project has made no measurable progress, and financial close remains elusive and distant while the coal market is as structurally challenged as ever. With India Energy Minister Piyush Goyal remaining committed to the target for India to aggressively cut thermal coal imports, any strategic merit of this proposal for India has lapsed. Consistent with this, NTPC Ltd this month reiterated its plans to cease thermal coal imports in the current 2016-17 year. The slump in the book value of shareholders means net debt is 17 times equity, and that is before any impairment of the highly financially leveraged and stranded Alpha coal proposal in Queensland. The results make no mention of this off-balance-sheet US$1 billion-plus investment that is entirely debt funded. Read More here
13 May 2016, The Conversation, South Australia is now coal-free, and batteries could fill the energy gap. South Australia’s last coal-fired power station closed on Monday this week, leaving the state with only gas and wind power generators. The Northern Power Station, in Port Augusta on the northern end of the Spencer Gulf, has joined Playford B – the state’s other coal-fired power station which has already been retired. The coal mine at Leigh Creek that supplied brown coal to the power stations also closed earlier this year, so there is no easy option for re-opening the power stations. The immediate impact of the closure was a brief wobble in wholesale electricity prices, with more energy brought in from Victoria’s brown coal power stations (adding to carbon emissions). But how could it affect the state in the long term? Could South Australia run out of power? Average electricity demand in South Australia is 1.4 gigawatts, and the state record for peak demand of 3.4 gigawatts was set in January 2011. In the past two years the highest demand was 2.9 gigawatts. Rollout of rooftop solar panels is one of the reasons demand from the grid has been going down. The impact on the peak demand – the time of day when most people are using appliances – is less clear, because if the peak occurs after sunset, solar panels will not reduce it. Read More here