Adani Power cans purchase of coal plant: Adani Power has abandoned its plan to buy the 1200 MW Baradarha power station in Chhattisgarh from BD Power, indicating the company is trimming expenditure after the Hindenburg Research report. In August 2022, Adani Power agreed to buy the plant for 70.2 billion rupees (US$850 million). Since the release of the Hindenburg Research report on January 24, shares in Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, have fallen by more than 54 per cent. After a brief rebound a week ago, the value of shares has fallen to the lowest level since the report’s release. The Norwegian pension fund  KLP has sold all its shares in Adani Green Energy over concern that investment in one arm of the company was financing coal-related projects. A later Adani filing revealed stock in the renewables company was used as collateral to help fund the Carmichael coal mine in Australia. (Live Mint, Global Energy Monitor)

US EPA reinstates key element of coal plant pollution rule: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reinstated key scientific, economic, and legal underpinnings of the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) used to regulate power plant pollution. The EPA found it is “appropriate and necessary” to limit pollution from power plants, including mercury. The standards were adopted in 2016 by the EPA during the term of President Barack Obama. President Donald Trump reversed the EPA’s rule in May 2020, rendering the standards vulnerable to legal challenge. The EPA argues that decision “improperly ignored or undervalued vital health benefits” from cutting key pollutants and notes that mercury, acid gas emissions and non-mercury metal emissions have all been reduced by more than  80 per cent since the standards were adopted. The EPA also concluded that the power sector’s compliance cost “was likely billions of dollars lower than originally estimated.” The release of the new rule could see two legal challenges pending before the US Court of Appeals restart, one brought by a Colorado coal company and another by a coalition of Republican states. (GreenWire, US Environmental Protection Agency)

IEA reveals 1500 coal mine methane events in 2022: The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Methane Tracker 2023 estimates the coal industry emitted about 41.8 million tonnes of methane in 2022. The entire global energy sector was responsible for 135 million tonnes of methane emissions that year. The IEA estimates coal mine emissions account for more than 10 per cent of total methane emissions from human activities. The report estimates that nearly 55 per cent of the coal industry’s methane emissions could be avoided by adopting existing technologies, especially in the metallurgical coal sector “where methane emissions are higher, and abatement is more feasible”. It also noted that high-resolution satellites are making the identification of sources of methane emission far easier.  GHGSat, which can identify sites where more than 100 kilograms of methane is emitted per hour, revealed 1500 methane emissions events at coal mines in 2022. The report notes that emissions from abandoned coal mines and oil and gas wells are not currently included in the IEA estimates. (International Energy Agency)

European coal lobby group gloomy about coal power’s future: Vladimir Budinsky, the vice-president of Euracoal, the peak industry lobby group for European coal producers and consumers, has bemoaned that the current energy market “is over – it’s finished”. Budinsky said renewables no longer require state support but that coal and nuclear won’t continue to operate without government funding. “Only renewables will remain on a market basis, the rest will be somehow regulated: gas, nuclear and coal, which will be phased out. That’s what we are expecting from the new European Commission.” Georg Zachmann, from Bruegel, a government and corporate-funded think tank, imagines the current overlapping incentives may evolve to a mix of short-term markets and longer-term markets with governments playing  key role in setting core policy parameters. (Euractiv)

Paper warns economic bust for coal exporters could stall transition: A paper in Energy Research and Social Science by a team of university researchers argues the increase in coal demand and prices in the mid-2020s in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “likely” to be followed by a rapid downturn that will hit exporters hard. The researchers argue the short-term economic boost for the coal sector could skew policymaking in favour of the coal sector despite the risk of “ballooning stranded assets”. They warn that unless the short-term windfall from high prices is used to finance just transition processes in vulnerable areas, there is a risk that the inevitable decline in coal demand could fuel “a vicious cycle that will slow down” support for economic diversiification.  (Energy Research & Social Science)

Glencore demands changes to block legal challenges over CCS trial: Leaked briefing notes reveal that Glencore, Australia’s largest coal exporter, has lobbied the Queensland state government to change the state’s environmental law to prevent legal challenges against its proposal to inject captured carbon dioxide into an underground aquifer. Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation (CTSCo), a Glencore subsidiary, is seeking approval to operate a carbon capture and storage project processing 110,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the 880 MW Millmerran power station. In its Environmental Impact Statement CTSCo acknowledges it will not comply with the legal requirement that “there will be no direct or indirect release of contaminants to groundwater from the operation.” The Liberal National Party member for the federal seat of Flynn, Colin Boyce, objects to the company’s proposal. “Why on earth would you compromise a potable water source in Australia, the world’s driest habitable continent?” he asked. (ABC News)

India directs imported coal plants to run at full capacity over summer: India’s Ministry of Power has ordered coal plants reliant on imported coal to operate at full capacity between March 16 and June 15. India’s 15 imported coal plants have a combined capacity of 17,600 MW. The directive will benefit Tata Power’s 4000 MW Mundra project and Adani Power’s 4620 MW Mundra plant, both of which have been in protracted disputes over uneconomic power purchase agreements and haven’t run at full capacity for several years. The ministry argues the emergency order is required as it expects India’s power demand to peak during April at 229 gigawatts, requiring all of the 193,000 MW of coal capacity to operate. The ministry, which expects coal consumption to increase by eight per cent in the financial year to the end of March 2024, proposes setting a tariff for the affected plants based on the lowest cost of imported coal. (Reuters)

Australia: Federal government agrees to review Engie’s plan to flood the Hazelwood coal mine as part of its rehabilitation plan.

Australia: BHP, the world’s largest exporter of metallurgical coal, and Mitsubishi Development plan [pdf] to sell the Daunia and Blackwater coking coal mines in Queensland. The combined production capacity of the mines is about 17 million tonnes a year.

Canada: Sierra Club Canada has filed an appeal against the approval of the Donkin coal mine in Nova Scotia.

Greece: The 660 MW Ptolemaida 5 lignite-fired power plant has been commissioned but won’t be economically viable in the medium term. The government has flagged that it may be converted to gas or operate as part of a capacity mechanism after 2028.

India: Wikipedia reports that over 40 editors have been blocked for editing Adani-related articles while working for the company or for other policy violations.

Japan: The 1000 MW No.2 coal unit at the Soma Kyodo Power’s Shinichi plant has shut down due to problems with a boiler control circuit. No restart date has been announced.

Philippines: A GNPower subsidiary operating the 552 MW Lanao Kauswagan plant says it faces “financial ruin” unless Davao Del Sur Electric Cooperative pays 1.37 billion pesos (US$24.93 million) owing under the provisions of a 2012 power purchase agreement.

UK: Civil society groups have urged the Coal Authority not to renew West Cumbria Mining’s conditional licence for exploratory drilling after orange water has entered Whitehaven Harbour, possibly from old underground mine workings.

Sri Lanka: Electricity prices have been increased by 66 per cent. The price rise aims to cover the high costs of imported fossil fuels and attract support from the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.

The European Union’s carbon price tops €100 per tonne for the first time: The cost of European Union (EU) carbon allowances has passed the €100 per tonne (US$106.57) threshold for the first time since the Emissions Trading System came into effect in 2005. The surge in the cost of carbon allowances over the last year has been driven by factors including increased short-term coal generation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the need to buy permits by April to cover emissions in the last year and policy changes tightening access to permits. In December, the EU agreed that the number of free permits given to polluters and the total number of allowances will progressively decline through to 2039. The changes, which have not yet been ratified, will intensify pressure on remaining coal plants, especially in countries such as Poland that have long resisted embracing a transition to renewables. (Reuters, Financial Times)

German ministry wants carbon credits from early retirement cancelled: The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate (BMWK) has proposed that all carbon dioxide certificates freed up by the early closure of German coal plants should be withdrawn from sale in the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. The ministry estimates bringing the coal phase out date forward from 2038 to 2030 would avoid about 280 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions with the carbon price certificates worth about €28 billion (US$29.9 billion). Climate analysts have argued the sale of the certificates, which were initially issued for free to satisfy the demands of industry groups, should be withdrawn from the market to drive decarbonisation elsewhere rather than be used as an offset. (Clean Energy Wire)

Eskom load shedding crisis escalates with more coal unit breakdowns: South Africa has been hit with stage 6 load shedding, requiring 6000 MW of load cut between 4 pm and 5 am since last Sunday night. Eskom has warned that the restriction will continue “until further notice” and could worsen. Eskom stated that the increased restrictions were triggered by the failure of a generating unit at each of the Arnot, Hendrina, Lethabo and Majuba plants and two units at Camden Power Station. All the units are at coal plants. The breakdowns meant Eskom had 21,243 MW of unplanned outages at its plants, with a further 3566 MW unavailable due to scheduled maintenance. Eskom said that two generating units at the Lethabo Power Station were closed due to the disruption of coal supply from the New Vaal Mine by heavy rains. (IOL, Eskom)

US carbon capture plant to reopen: JX Nippon has announced it plans to restart the Petra Nova carbon capture and storage plant in June after NRG Energy completes repairs on the 654 MW Unit 8 of the W.A. Parish coal plant in Texas. The plant, which was commissioned in 2017, closed in early 2020 after a combination of breakdowns and low oil prices rendered the project uneconomic. Carbon dioxide captured from the plant was sold to boost production from a nearby oilfield. In September 2022, JX Nippon, a half-owner of the US$1 billion plant, bought NRG Energy’s half-share for US$3.6 million. The economics of the plant have improved with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 increasing the tax credit on carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery projects from about US$12 per tonne to US$60 per tonne. Oil prices, which dictate the value of Co2 for enhanced oil recovery projects, have also increased from about US$40 per barrel in 2020 to US$80 per barrel. Despite the announcement, the financial and technical challenges of CCS projects on coal plants remain significant. The only other CCS project on a coal plant in the world is on Unit 3 of the Boundary Dam plant in Canada. (Bloomberg, FactSet)

Bangladesh coal plant sputters by on limited coal supply: The first 660 MW unit at the newly commissioned Rampal coal plant was offline for more than three weeks after the Bangladesh Bank delayed approval of a Letter of Credit to cover the cost of imported coal. The plant is a joint venture between the Indian government’s power utility NTPC and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Farmers and civil society groups have vehemently opposed it. The first unit at the plant was commissioned in mid-December 2022 and ran for less than a month before coal stocks ran out. The unit has restarted at a reduced load, with the BIFPC warning that generation may be disrupted again after coal shipments to cover the next two months are exhausted. The government has reportedly created a high-level committee to review the provisions of the Adani and other private power purchase agreements. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has argued since the plant was first proposed that it would be uneconomic due to reliance on expensive imported coal. The cost of power from the plant is almost double the original estimate. (Business Standard, Business Standard)

Report notes Arcelor Mittal’s two-faced steel strategy: A report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis urges investors in ArcelorMittal to challenge the company over its pursuit of new coal-based steel projects in India. The company has made much of its 2050 net zero emissions target and is moving towards green hydrogen-based steelmaking in Europe and Canada. ArcelorMittal also has a 60 per cent stake in a joint venture with Nippon Steel of Japan which has commenced construction of two coal-based blast furnaces at a new steel plant at Hazira in Gujarat, which could be expanded to produce 20 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India also proposes two new coal-based steel plants, one at Kendrapara and the other at Paradip, both in Odisha. The plants have a proposed capacity of 24 Mtpa and 6 Mtpa, respectively. (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)

Teck offloads coal assets to shareholders: Teck Resources, the world’s third largest exporter of metallurgical coal, has announced it will spin-off its Canadian metallurgical coal mines into a new publicly-listed company, Elk Valley Resources (EVR). The remainder of the company will be renamed Teck Metals and focus on copper mining, which will avoid the constraints on lending to companies with substantial coal interests. As payment for its assets, EVR will pay Teck Metals about 60 per cent of gross revenue from its metallurgical coal operations subject to conditions. Teck said the agreement would run until the end of 2028 or a maximum of US$7 billion. The 20 per cent stake of the South Korean steel producer POSCO in the Greenhills coal mine and its 2.5 per cent share in the Elkview mine will be converted to a 2.5 per cent share in EVR. Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) will invest US$1.025 billion in EVR and, in addition to its 2.5 per cent stake in the Elkview mine, will hold a 10 per cent share in the new company. NSC will also enter into a long-term offtake agreement for metallurgical coal from EVR. (Mining, Teck Resources)

Driving down coal mine methane emissions: A regulatory roadmap and toolkit, International Energy Agency, February 2023. (Pdf)

This 76-page report detail`s policies and regulations that can significantly reduce methane emissions from coal mining.

“The State of Global Coal Power Factsheet Series”, Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland and Global Energy Monitor, February 2023.

The Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland has produced a series of one-page factsheets featuring key coal power data on the 17 largest coal-producing and consuming countries. Data for the sheets is derived from Global Energy Monitor’s Coal Plant Tracker.

Analysis of Glencore’s forward coal emissions profile, Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, February 2023. (Pdf)

This 50-page presentation analyses Glencore’s cumulative emissions from coal production and challenges its assumptions on the viability of carbon capture and storage technology. The report concludes the company does not appear to be on a Paris-aligned coal pathway.