Coal power in the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China is the largest consumer of coal in the world,[1] and is about to become the largest user of coal-derived electricity, generating 1.95 trillion kilowatt-hours per year, or 68.7% of its electricity from coal as of 2006 (compared to 1.99 trillion kilowatt-hours per year, or 49% for the US).[2][3] Hydroelectric power supplied another 20.7% of China's electricity needs in 2006.

With approximately 13 percent of the world's proven reserves, there is debate as to how many years these reserves will last at current levels of consumption.[4]

China's coal mining industry is the largest and also deadliest in the world in terms of human safety[5] where thousands of people die every year in the coal pits, compared to 30 per year for coal power in the United States.[6] Coal production rose 8.1% in 2006 over the previous year, reaching 2.38 billion tons, and the nation's largest coal enterprises saw their profits exceed 67 billion yuan, or $8.75 billion.[7]

Contents

Resource flow

Coal reserves

As of the end of 2006, China had 62 billion tons of anthracite and 52 billion tons of lignite quality coal. This ranks China third in the world in terms of total coal reserves behind the United States and Russia. Most reserves are located in the north and north-west of the country, which poses a large logistical problem for supplying electricity to the more heavily populated coastal areas.[3] At current levels of production, China has 48 years worth of reserves.[8] However, others suggest that China has enough coal to sustain its economic growth for a century or more even though demand is currently outpacing production.[4]

Coal production

China is the largest coal producer in the world.[9] Northern China, especially Shanxi Province, contains most of China's easily accessible coal. Coal from southern mines tends to be higher in sulfur and ash, and therefore unsuitable for many applications.[9]

Year Coal Production
(Billion short tons)
2000 1.00
2001 1.11
2002 1.42
2003 1.61
2004 2.00
2005 2.19
2006 2.38
2007 2.62
2008 2.72
2009 2.96

Demand for coal in China continues to increase, and it is estimated that it will be around 3.06 billion tons in 2010. Furthermore, it is expected that demand will soon exceed production due to factors such as a government crackdown on mines that are unsafe, polluting, or wasteful. Some were shut down for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[10]

On July 6, 2008 in central and northern China, 2.5% of the nation's coal plants (58 units or 14,020 MW of capacity) had to shut down due to coal shortages. This forced local governments to limit electricity consumption and issue blackout warnings. The shortage is somewhat attributed to the closing of small dangerous coal mines.[11]

Inner Mongolia

China's largest open-pit coal mine is located in Haerwusu in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It started production on 20 October 2008, and is operated by Shenhua Group. Its estimated coal output was forecast at 7 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2008. With a designed annual capacity of 20 million tonnes of crude coal, it will operate for approximately 79 years. Its coal reserves total about 1.73 billion tonnes. It is rich in low-sulfur steam coal.[12] Mines in Inner Mongolia are rapidly expanding production, with 637 million tons produced in 2009. Transport of coal from this region to seaports on China's coast has overloaded highways such as China National Highway 110 resulting in chronic traffic jams and delays.[13]

Coal consumption

China's coal consumption in 2010 was 3.2 billion metric tonnes per annum. The National Development and Reform Commission, which determines the energy policy of China, aims to keep China's coal consumption below 3.8 billion metric tonnes per annum.

With investment in the coal industry rising at an annual rate of 50 percent in recent years, China will retain its current position as the leading global consumer of coal, even as it endeavors to diversify.

During the first three quarters of 2009 China's coal consumption increased 9% from 2008 to 2.01 billion metric tons.[14]

The consumption of coal is largely in power production, aside from this, there is a lot of industry and manufacturing use along with a comparatively very small amount of domestic use.

IEA Breakdown of coal consumption (million short tons)[15]
Use Anthracite Coking Coal Other Bituminous
Residential 0 0 71.7
Industry 24.6 16.3 342.1
Electricity Plants 0 0.2 1305.2
Heat Plants 0 0.19 153.7
Other Transformation[16] 0 359.2 84.0

Electricity generation

Main article: Electricity sector in China

Coal power is distributed by the State Power Grid Corporation. China's installed coal-based electrical capacity was 484 GW, or 77% of the total electrical capacity, in 2006.[17] The dominant technology in the country is coal pulverization in lieu of the more advanced and preferred coal gasification. China's move to a more open economy in the 1990s is cited as a reason for this, where the more immediately lucrative pulverization technology was favored by businesses. There are plans in place for an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) type plant by 2010.[18] Furthermore, less than 15% of plants have desulphurization systems.[19]

Industrial use

One of the principal users is the steel industry in China.

Domestic use

In cities the domestic burning of coal is no longer permitted. In rural areas coal is still permitted to be used Chinese households, commonly burned raw in unvented stoves. This fills houses with high levels of toxic metals leading to bad Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). In addition, people eat food cooked over coal fires which contains toxic substances. Toxic substances from coal burning include arsenic, fluorine, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and mercury. Health issues are caused which include severe arsenic poisoning, skeletal fluorosis (over 10 million people afflicted in China), esophageal and lung cancers, and selenium poisoning.[20]

In 2007 the use of coal and biomass (collectively referred to as solid fuels) for domestic purposes was nearly ubiquitous in rural households but declining in urban homes. At that time, estimates put the number of premature deaths due to indoor air pollution at 420,000 per year, which is even higher than due to outdoor air pollution, estimated at around 300,000 deaths per year. The specific mechanisms for death cited have been respiratory illnesses, lung cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), weakening of the immune system, and reduction in lung function. Measured pollution levels in homes using solid fuels generally exceeded China's IAQ air quality standards. Technologies exist to improve indoor air quality, notably the instillation of a chimney and modernized bioenergy but need more support to make a larger difference.[21]

International trade

China became a net importer of coal in 2008.[22] In 2006, its exports exceeded imports by 25.1 million tons, but only by 2 million tons in 2007. This is significantly lower than the 90 million ton net exports in 2001.

Carbon footprint

In 2001 the carbon emissions from coal use in China made up about 10% of the world total CO2 emissions at the time.[23] By 2004 this fraction rose to 14%.[24] It is believed that a continued increase in coal power in China may undermine international initiatives to decrease carbon emissions such as the Kyoto Protocol, which called for a decrease of 483 million tons by 2012. In the same time frame, it is expected that coal plants in China will have increased CO2 emissions by 1,926 million tons — over 4 times the proposed reduction.[25]

Fossil Fuel-related CO2 Emissions in China, 1998–2004 (in millions of metric tons of CO2)
  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
CO2 from coal 2,363 2,287 2,339 2,472 2,518 2,731 3,809
CO2 from natural gas 47 51 57 64 69 72 83
CO2 from petroleum 531 566 636 653 686 737 816
Total CO2 from all fossil fuels 2,940 2,905 3,033 3,190 3,273 3,541 4,707
Source: DOE/EIA[24]

Efforts to reduce emissions

China's first coal-fired power station employing the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), which is a coal gasification process that turns coal into a gas before burning it, is planned to begin operations in 2009 at Tianjin near Beijing. Developed under a project called GreenGen, this $5.7 bn 650 MW plant will be a joint venture between a group of state-owned enterprises and Peabody Energy.[26] In September 2011, the Chinese government's Ministry of Environmental Protection announced a new emission standard for thermal power plants, for NOx and mercury, and a tightening of SO2 and soot standards. New coal power plants have a set date of the beginning of 2012 and for old power plants by mid-2014. They must also abide by a new limit on mercury by beginning of 2015. It is estimated such measures could bring about a 70% reduction in NOx emissions from power plants. [27]

Beijing

China is considering moving the last four coal-fired power and heating plants out of Beijing's municipal area, replacing them with gas-fired stations, in an effort to improve air quality in the capital. The four plants, owned by Huaneng Power International, Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd, China Shenhua Energy and Beijing Jingneng Thermal Power Co Ltd, have a total power generating capacity of about 2.7 gigawatts (GW).[28]

Coal mine fires

It is estimated that coal mine fires in China burn about 200 million tons of coal each year. Small illegal fires are frequent in the northern region of Xinjiang. Local miners may use abandoned mines for shelter and intentionally set such fires for heat. One study estimates that this translates into 360 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which is not included in the previous emissions figures.[29]

North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has announced plans to extinguish fires in the region by 2012. Most of these fires were caused by bad mining practices combined with bad weather. 200 million yuan (29.3 million USD) has been budgeted to this effect.[30]

Accidents and deaths

In 2003, the death rate per million tons of coal mined in China was 130 times higher than in the United States, 250 times higher than in Australia (open cast mines) and 10 times higher than the Russian Federation (underground mines). However the safety figures in the major state owned coal enterprises were significantly better. Even so in 2007 China produced one third of the world's coal but had four fifths of coal fatalities.[31]

Pulmonary disease

 While not directly attributable, many more deaths are resultant from dangerous emissions from coal plants.  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), linked to exposure to fine particulates, SO2, and cigarette smoke among other factors, accounted for 26% of all deaths in China in 1988.[33]  A report by the World Bank in cooperation with the Chinese government found that about 750,000 people die prematurely in China each year from air pollution.  Later, the government asked the researchers to soften the conclusions.[34]

Many direct deaths happen in coal mining and processing. In 2007, 1,084 out of the 3,770 workers who died were from gas blasts. Small mines (comprising 90% of all mines) are known to have far higher death rates, and the government of China has banned new coal mines with a high gas danger and a capacity below 300,000 tons in an effort to reduce deaths a further 20% by 2010. The government has also vowed to close 4,000 small mines to improve industry safety.[35] A total of 2,657,230 people worked in state owned coal mines at the end of 2006.[36]

Accidents in the News

2005

2006

2007

2008

3,000 workers were killed in Chinese coal mines during 2008.[48]

2009

2010

The government has been cracking down on unregulated mining operations, which account for almost 80 percent of the country's 16,000 mines. The closure of about 1,000 dangerous small mines last year helped to cut in half the average number of miners killed, to about six a day, in the first six months of this year, the government has said. Major gas explosions in coal mines remain a problem, though the number of accidents and deaths have gradually declined year by year, the chief of the State Administration of Work Safety, Luo Lin, told a national conference in September.[50]

In the first nine months of 2009, China's coal mines had 11 major accidents with 303 deaths, with gas explosions the leading cause, according to the central government. Most accidents are blamed on failures to follow safety rules, including a lack of required ventilation or fire control equipment.[50]

Unofficial estimates often estimate death tolls at twice the official number reported by the government.[62] Since 1949 over 250,000 coal mining deaths have been recorded.[7] However, since 2002, the death toll gradually decreases while the coal production nearly doubles in the same period.

By year

Year Number of accidents Deaths Death rate per
million tons of coal
2000 2,863 5,798 5.80
2001 3,082 5,670 5.11
2002 4,344 6,995 4.93
2003 4,143 6,434 4.00
2004 3,639 6,027 3.01
2005 3,341 5,986 2.73
2006 2,945 4,746 1.99
2007 3,770 1.44
2008 3,210 1.18
2009 1,616 2,631 0.89

Source: State Administration of Work Safety[63]

International opinions

See also: Debate over China's economic responsibilities for climate change mitigation

In October 2008, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, and The Energy Foundation published The True Cost of Coal, a report that said that by-products of coal burning such as water pollution, air pollution and human costs such as mining deaths are costing China an additional 1.7 trillion yuan per year, or more than 7% of GDP. They recommended that China increase the price of coal by a tax of 23% to reflect the true costs of China's reliance on coal.[64]

Other commentators have pointed out that China has been taking a role as a leader in making use of coal as an electricity source more clean and responsible. For instance, the country built new ultra-supercritical coal plants (~44% efficiency) before the United States[65]. While the average efficiency of the coal fleet in China remains less than that of the US, the gap is quickly closing. China has required companies building new plants to retire an old plant for every new one built.[66]

See also

Other countries

References

  1. ^ NationMaster.com. Energy Statistics > Coal consumption (most recent) by country. Accessed 07/01/08.
    Gives:
    China: 1,310,000,000 Billion short tons of coal consumed per year
    United States: 1,060,000,000 (same units)
  2. ^ See Wikipedia article on Chinese economy
  3. ^ a b "Nuclear Power in China". Country Briefings. World Nuclear Association. 31 July 2010. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf63.html. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
  4. ^ a b Peter Fairley, Technology Review. Part I: China's Coal Future, January 5, 2007.
  5. ^ BBC News. China orders bosses down mines. 7 November 2005.
  6. ^ a b BBC News. 105 die in China mine explosion. December 7, 2007.
  7. ^ a b International Herald Tribune. Chinese coal industry in need of a helping hand
  8. ^ "BP Statistical review of world energy June 2007" (XLS). British Petroleum. http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2007/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/spreadsheets/statistical_review_full_report_workbook_2007.xls. Retrieved 27 August 2010. 
  9. ^ a b "Country analysis briefs: China". Energy Information Administration. August, 2006. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/China/Coal.html. Retrieved 2008-07-02. 
  10. ^ The Age. China coal shortage to continue. January 16, 2008.
  11. ^ Bloomberg. China Shuts More Coal Power Plants; Warns on Shortage (Update1). June 8, 2008.
  12. ^ "China's largest open-pit coal mine ready for production". Xinhua News Agency. October 19, 2008. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/19/content_10218215.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
  13. ^ "China’s Growth Leads to Problems Down the Road" "Mongolian coal production has exploded — up 37 percent to 637 million tons last year alone, with an additional 15 percent increase expected this year." article by Michael Wines in The New York Times August 27, 2010, accessed August 28, 2010
  14. ^ Jin, Tony (October 27, 2009). "China Consumes 9% More Coal through September". The China Perspective. http://thechinaperspective.com/articles/chinaconsumes9morecoalthroughseptember6502/index.html. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
  15. ^ "Coal and Peat in China, People's Republic of in 2007". International Energy Agency (IEA). http://www.iea.org/stats/coaldata.asp?COUNTRY_CODE=CN. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
  16. ^ Other Transformation refers to an energy transformation process not in the preceding list of electricity, industry, or heat. For the case of coal, this is likely to include losses, own use, gains, or liquefaction. Reference: [1].
  17. ^ "Capacity of China's straw-fueled power plants reaches 1.2 mln kw". Xinhua. 2007-01-16. http://english.people.com.cn/200701/16/eng20070116_341780.html. Retrieved 2008-07-02. 
  18. ^ Technology Review. Part II: China's Coal Future, "To prevent massive pollution and slow its growing contribution to global warming, China will need to make advanced coal technology work on an unprecedented scale."
  19. ^ Wikinvest:China's Coal Power Pollution.
  20. ^ Robert B. Finkelman, Harvey E. Belkin, and Baoshan Zheng. Health impacts of domestic coal use in China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 March 30; 96(7): 3427–3431.
  21. ^ Environmental Health Perspectives. Household Air Pollution from Coal and Biomass Fuels in China: Measurements, Health Impacts, and Interventions. Received July 3, 2006; Accepted February 27, 2007.
  22. ^ a b c FT.com / Asia-Pacific / China - Australia loses market share in China’s coal
  23. ^ EIA data, via Info Please.
  24. ^ a b "Country analysis briefs: China". Energy Information Administration. August, 2006. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/China/Environment.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11. 
  25. ^ The Christian Science Monitor. New coal plants bury 'Kyoto'. December 23, 2004.
  26. ^ "China's first carbon capture & storage plant to be operational by 2009". Power Engineering International. 2007-12-31. http://pepei.pennnet.com/display_article/315797/6/ARTCL/none/PRODJ/1/China's-first-carbon-capture-&-storage-plant-to-be-operational-by-2009/. Retrieved 2008-01-13. 
  27. ^ "Chinese government demand coal companies begin to pay for bad air". Greenpeace East Asia. 2011-09-26. http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/blog/chinese-government-demand-coal-companies-begi/blog/37025/. Retrieved 2011-09-26. 
  28. ^ Bai, Jim; Tom Miles (10 November 2009). "China Eyes Closing Coal-Fired Power Plants In Capital". Reuters. http://planetark.org/wen/55408. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
  29. ^ Mines and Communities Website. A Burning Issue. February 14, 2003.
  30. ^ Xinhua. N China to put out some coalfield fires by 2012. 2010-06-04
  31. ^ World Investment Report 2007: Transition Corporations, Extractive Industries United Nations Conference on Trade and Development page 149
  32. ^ "WHO Disease and injury country estimates". World Health Organization. 2009. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/estimates_country/en/index.html. Retrieved Nov. 11, 2009. 
  33. ^ China and Coal.
  34. ^ Financial Times. 750,000 a year killed by Chinese pollution. July 2, 2007.
    released version of the report: [2]
  35. ^ Xinhua. China to ban small coal mines for improving pit safety record. August 15, 2008.
  36. ^ International Energy Agency. Cleaner Coal in China. Copyright 2009.
  37. ^ a b c d e f China mine disasters
  38. ^ BBC News. China jails five over mine blast.
  39. ^ "China coal mine blast kills 54, traps 22" (placed online by People's Daily Online). China Daily. December 8, 2005. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200512/08/eng20051208_226543.html. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  40. ^ "Blast at China coal mine kills 27". BBC News. April 30, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4959254.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  41. ^ International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions. Rash of China Coal Mine Deaths Occur in March. 26 March 2007.
  42. ^ USA Today. Death toll rises to 70 in China coal mine blast.
  43. ^ Terra Daily. China coal mine death toll rises to 35. November 11, 2007.
  44. ^ Joshi, Mohit (13 April 2008). "Gas explosion kills 14 at Chinese coal mine". Topnews.. http://www.topnews.in/gas-explosion-kills-14-chinese-coal-mine-234882. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  45. ^ "China Coal Mine Blast Kills 24 - Xinhua". Javno.com. September 4, 2008. http://www.javno.com/en-world/china-coal-mine-blast-kills-24---xinhua_178886. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  46. ^ "China Coal Mine Gas `Outburst` Kills 31 - Xinhua". Javno.com. September 21, 2008. http://www.javno.com/en-world/china-coal-mine-gas-outburst-kills-31---xinhua_184473. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  47. ^ "N. China coal mine accident kills 4, injures 13" (published online by People Daily). Xinhua. November 10, 2008. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6530532.html. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  48. ^ a b Subler, Jason; Li Jiansheng (May 30, 2009). "Gas blast at Chinese coal mine kills at least 30". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSPEK98596. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
  49. ^ "Chinese tragedy claims 77 lives". Mining Environmental Management Aspermont UK 2009. 12 Mar 2009. http://www.miningenvironmental.com/enviromine/chinese-tragedy-claims-77-lives. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  50. ^ a b c d "42 Reported Dead, and 66 Trapped, in China Mine Accident" by the Associated Press, via The New York Times. November 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  51. ^ "Coal mine flood kills 6 in SW China, 4 missing" (Published online by China Daily). Xinhua. 2009-03-20. http://www.chinadaily.net/china/2009-03/20/content_7600488.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  52. ^ "12 miners confirmed dead in China coal mine flooding" (Placed online by Dhina Daily). Xinhua. 2009-04-09 1. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-04/09/content_7662651.htm. 
  53. ^ "18 people dead in coal mine explosion in China" (published online by USA today). AP. 2009-04-18. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-18-china-mine-explosion_N.htm?csp=23RM_Exclude=aol. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  54. ^ "Chinese coal mine covers up gas poisoning deaths" (published online by China Daily). Xinhua. 2009-05-11. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-05/09/content_7760554.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
  55. ^ "Coal mine blast kills ten in SW China" (published online by China Daily). Xinhua. 2009-05-15. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-05/15/content_7783173.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  56. ^ "Workers die of asphyxiation in Chinese coal mine" (Placed online by Gulf news : Al Nisr Publishing LLC). Associated Press. May 16, 2009. http://www.gulfnews.com/world/China/10314082.html. Retrieved 2009-05-31. 
  57. ^ Bradsher, Keith (22 November 2009). "At least 87 dies in Chinese mine explosion". The New York Times (New York). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/world/asia/22china.html?_r=1. Retrieved 22 November 2009. 
  58. ^ "At least 89 killed in coal mine blast". USA: Statesman.com. 22 November 2009. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/world/2009/11/22/1122china.html. Retrieved 22 November 2009. 
  59. ^ (Xinhua) (Reuters Africa) (Press TV) (Times of India)
  60. ^ Associated Press. Race on to rescue 153 trapped Chinese coal miners. March 29, 2010.
  61. ^ "Death toll rises to 21 after SW China coal-gas outburst". Xinhua News Agency. 14 May 2010. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-05/15/c_13295420.htm. Retrieved 14 May 2010. 
  62. ^ World Socialist Website. China’s coal mining deaths spiral. August 3, 2002.
  63. ^ Mines and Communities Website. China and US coal disasters. 7th January 2006.
  64. ^ Greenpeace web site. China's Coal Crisis. October 27, 2008.
  65. ^ Technology Frontier Article [3]
  66. ^ The New York Times. China Outpaces U.S. in Cleaner Coal-Fired Plants. May 10, 2009.

External links

Organizations
Articles
Topics
Agencies
Sources
Bioenergy · Coal · Geothermal · Hydroelectricity ( Hydroelectric power stations) · Nuclear · Oil shale · Petroleum industry · Solar · Wind
State owned
energy companies
Energy in China · Energy Portal · Sustainable development portal
Banpu Public Company Limited • CITIC Resources • China Coal Energy Company • China Kingho Group • China National Coal Group Corporation • China Shenhua Energy Company • China United Coalbed Methane Corporation • Datong Coal Industry Company Limited • Datong Coal Mining Group • Fushun Mining Group • Hidili Industry International Development Limited • Huaibei Coal Mining Group • Huainan Coal Mining Group • International Energy Mining Industry Limited • Kailuan Group • Mongolia Energy Corporation • Panjiang Coal and Electric Power Group • Pingdingshan Coal Mining Group • Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group • Shanxi Coking Co. • Shenhua Group • Xishan Coal and Electricity Power • Yangquan Coal Mining Group • Yankuang Group • Yanzhou Coal Mining Company
Coal companies of China