[DrCaleb]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

I also agree with Thanos. Natural gas would be a much better alternative to more coal fired power plants. So, I wonder if they've considered building these new coal fired power plants with some contingencies built in so they could convert them to natural gas at a later date.

Well, at the rate we are going, we should be able to start exporting them LNG in the 2080-2100 range.

[stratos]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Japan had a very successful nuclear program. It was one of the few who reprocessed their waste back into usable fuel.

Fukushima survived the earthquake, but the tsunami is what did in it's external power source. And only because the site was already being decommissioned. But the Japanese are almost neurotic about their food, and the fallout reaching such a large area spooked many against nuclear power.

I imagine at some time this panic will subside, but in the mean time they are reconsidering almost all of their other nuclear plants and need something to cover the shortfall in electric production.

They've been terrified of nuclear power since August 9th 1945 and you can understand why. If you're the only country in the world to have be nuked in anger there's good reason to be somewhat leery of Nuclear anything.

I also agree with Thanos. Natural gas would be a much better alternative to more coal fired power plants. So, I wonder if they've considered building these new coal fired power plants with some contingencies built in so they could convert them to natural gas at a later date.

I hope they do build so the can switch to natural gas. Thing is they have to IMPORT. Coal and Natural gas so I suspect what ever is cheaper is what they will go with for the time being.

[BartSimpson]

Geez, people. Didn't anyone simply consider that the global drop in thermal coal prices have simply made coal a cheap source of energy again? Japan is building coal plants simply because they make sense financially and that's accounting for environmental controls like sulfur dioxide mitigation.

[Thanos]

Coal's cheapness is also due to it no longer being used by a growing number of countries for power generation. There's a glut of it as bad as there is for oil, but with oil there will inevitably be an end to the surplus. Not so with coal. Coal Country USA can say otherwise until they're blue in the face but coal is something to move far away from, effectively the buggy-whip or cassette tape of fuel sources. Get rid of coal-generation altogether and the total worldwide emissions would be cut by almost 40%. Hell, forget about carbon emissions altogether - leave coal behind just to get away permanently from the era of the killer smog and acid rain that coal combustion causes. Japan is the outlier here with this return to it. If the Fukishima disaster hadn't happened then they probably wouldn't be doing this at all.

[rickc]

So whatever happened to "clean coal"? I thought that new coal fired plants were supposed to be equipped with scrubbers and other devices to clean up emissions.

[raydan]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Geez, people. Didn't anyone simply consider that the global drop in thermal coal prices have simply made coal a cheap source of energy again? Japan is building coal plants simply because they make sense financially and that's accounting for environmental controls like sulfur dioxide mitigation.

Asbestos must be cheap too.

[DrCaleb]

rickc rickc:

So whatever happened to "clean coal"? I thought that new coal fired plants were supposed to be equipped with scrubbers and other devices to clean up emissions.

Natural gas doesn't need those things. So it's cheaper from the time you put shovels into the ground.

[Freakinoldguy]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

I also agree with Thanos. Natural gas would be a much better alternative to more coal fired power plants. So, I wonder if they've considered building these new coal fired power plants with some contingencies built in so they could convert them to natural gas at a later date.

Well, at the rate we are going, we should be able to start exporting them LNG in the 2080-2100 range.

Quit being so optimistic.

[BartSimpson]

raydan raydan:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Geez, people. Didn't anyone simply consider that the global drop in thermal coal prices have simply made coal a cheap source of energy again? Japan is building coal plants simply because they make sense financially and that's accounting for environmental controls like sulfur dioxide mitigation.

Asbestos must be cheap too.

Asbestos IS cheap.

Mitigating it takes a pile of gold roughly the size of the Titanic!

[CharlesAnthony]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Geez, people. Didn't anyone simply consider that the global drop in thermal coal prices have simply made coal a cheap source of energy again?

HOW DARE YOU?!?