Does coal have a future in the UK?

UK Coal Industry

Coal has earned itself a pretty retched reputation over the last three decades ever since it was revealed just how much carbon is emitted from the world's coal-burning power plants.

Many environmentalists would rather see the coal industry buried in the history books, but could technology that allows its emissions to be buried in the earth actually make it a vital part of Britain's energy future?

The UK's largest mining group, UK Coal, claim carbon capture and sequestration technology can catch up to 90 percent of a coal plant's carbon emissions, and will eventually lead to a resurgence in demand for the fuel.

As Britain strives to become more reliant on renewable sources of energy, a more pressing concern is to cut the levels of carbon already being produced, and carbon capture serves that need rather effectively. The UK government has already admitted on a number of occasions that clean coal can have a future, but green industry analysts argue the technology merely hides the problem, claiming that as long as an industry is carbon emitting it can never be clean.

"A third of UK electricity is generated using coal"

As Sky News reports, within five years, it is hoped retro-fitted carbon capture technology will be up and running at a UK coal fired power station. No new ones will be built without it. But there have already been some promising signs for the sector, as last year, the all-time coal production record for a British mine was broken at the Daw Mill Colliery in Warwickshire, where it extracted 3.2 million tonnes.

UK Coal Director Norman Haslam told Sky News: "A third of the electricity in the UK is generated using coal, so clearly in the short term we can't do without it and even in the longer term we can't do without it.

"Coal burning stations can vary their output fairly easily, whereas nuclear stations have got to give a steady output. So coal can be used to meet peak demand.

"If coal can be cleaned up, coal will be in stronger demand."

Cut carbon by 12.5 percent by 2012

Only in June this year there were reports that all of Britain's coal-fired power stations, including Drax, the country's largest emitter of carbon, could be forced to close down under carbon capture plans unveiled by the UK government. And this could still happen, for those plants that do not have the technology fitted will be forced to shut when the policy comes into force.

But if UK Coal's plans are anything to go by, the coal industry is still in pretty good shape. The firm claims to have reserves and resources of more than 100 million tonnes of coal lying just metres below the surface, and with its miners being highly skilled and well paid each job vacancy receives over 100 applications.

The UK government's carbon cutting deadlines are tight, as much as 12.5 percent by 2012, but environmentalists claim the globe's current climate situation demands swift action.

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