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The ongoing coalgate scam has revolted and puzzled me in equal measure. The former sentiment is easy to understand and reams have been, and no doubt will continue to be, printed about it. However, this post intends to concentrate on the reasons for the latter sentiment—just what is it about coal that is so odd?

For starters, not many know much about coal, except that it is a form of energy source that comes out of the earth. We may recall from the lessons we were taught at school that coal is primarily burned for the production of electricity and/or heat, and is also used for industrial purposes, such as metal refining and cement production. Better known as a fossil fuel, coal forms when dead plant matter is converted into peat, which in turn is converted into lignite, followed by sub-bituminous coal and bituminous coal, and lastly, anthracite. This involves biological and geological processes that take place over millions of years. Lignite, the lowest rank of coal, is used almost exclusively as fuel for electric power generation. Anthracite, the highest rank, is a harder black coal, used primarily for heating spaces. There is clinching evidence that coal has been used as early as 371–287 BC in Greece. Apparently, the Aztecs in America even used coal for ornamentation. It was during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries that demand for coal surged. The massive improvements in steam engine technology in the 1760s by James Watt were largely responsible for this. The history of coal mining and use is thus inextricably linked with that of the Industrial Revolution. In India too, the introduction of steam locomotives in 1853 initially kick-started the previously sluggish demand for coal.

Given that it is the largest source of energy generation worldwide even today—it creates about 40% of the world’s electricity—it obviously serves some very crucial functions. So, why all the hue and cry now? It’s because the combustion of coal causes the largest worldwide anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide emissions. Tie that in with climate change, and the argument for chucking coal is obvious.

Despite this, the use of coal continues to grow at a faster rate than for any other fuel. Indeed, theInternational Energy Agency (IEA) projects average coal demand to grow by 600,000 tons every day over the next five years, with rapidly developing economies like China and India alone likely to account for 68% of the increase!

Educated estimates suggest that, worldwide, we have enough coal to last over 190 years. Coal can be found on every continent in over 70 countries, with the biggest reserves in the USA, Russia, China, and India (home to about 55 million tons of extractable reserves and 95 billion tons of proven reserves). 

Above: Proven Coal Reserves (Source: http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org)

However, there are caveats. A recent interdisciplinary study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports that coal composition, its structure, and properties differ considerably among mining locations, due to site-specific geologic conditions. These differences are a consequence of variation in chemical composition (mainly water and ash content), which in turn drives the selection of coal combustion technology and equipment. Coal types with lower energy content, higher ash content, and higher moisture content significantly drive up the capital cost of thermal power generation and lower the generating efficiency. For example, on average, Indian coal has ash content ranging from 30–50% (compared to 28–33% for average Chinese coal), which has long been recognized as a sticky problem, as it lowers calorific value. Coal washing can help overcome this issue, but it increases costs and causes large energy losses. Coal washing is also a water-intensive process. The spent water is highly polluted with heavy metals and fine particulate matter, which makes disposal a problem and causes serious harm to the environment when effluents are discharged into water bodies.

And yet, oddly enough, the world’s story with coal continues. Why? Because it is abundant and itscheap price fails to include its real costs. According to a World Bank study from 2006, the health effects from air pollution (primarily coal burning) will cost China, the world's largest coal consumer, USD 39 billion, or a whopping 13% of its GDP in 2020. A WWF report rightly says that coal is the world's "most expensive bargain." 

As Professor Per Nicolai Martens of the Institute of Mining Engineering at the Aachen Technical University in Germany says, “You reach a point where people say you have to stop burning coal. But when you reach that point, you are forced to ask the question of what happens when you shut it off?” Although renewables have been on the horizon for a long time now, they have not made much headway against their darker cousin. As Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point puts it, “Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do.” Perhaps, soon one day, coal will too reach its tipping point and renewables will take over.

This post originally appeared at mahazareendastur.blogspot.com.