China going back to coal-based power in a big way

Beijing: US-China climate deal may have surprised many who are unaware that China is still a developing country with a coal demand structure that is still modernising. 

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2013 released in last November projects that China’s CO2 emissions would indeed peak in 2030.

The coal transformation continues apace in China: the “Large Substituting for Small” Program started in 2007 has accelerated a structural change in the coal technology mix. China’s new coal deployment focuses on upgrading from 300 MW and 600 MW sub-critical boilers (with efficiencies ~28%) to larger and more advanced super-critical (SC) and ultra-supercritical (USC) boilers ranging from 600 MW to 1,000 MW, which can achieve efficiencies as high as 50%.

A one per cent increase in efficiency reduces such emissions as CO2, NOx, SO2, and particulates by 2%. There are approximately 340 GW of SC and USC capacity online and under construction in China, more advanced coal capacity than the entire US coal fleet. In recent years, China has represented 80-90% of the global market for advanced coal combustion power generation systems and associated environmental control systems. The result is more coal power, less coal emissions.

“A single, large coal plant, if built with the best-available technology, can reduce emissions by the annual equivalent of taking a million cars off the road compared to the subcritical coal-plant technology still prevalent in most countries,” said Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director of the IEA.