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Finding a cleaner way of utilizing coal energy

Many environmental issues were raised during events and activities marking Earth Day on April 22. One of them was the plan to build a coal-fired power plant in the coastal area of Changhua County, but that project has been stalled because of its adverse environmental impact. Coal has long ceased to be a favored source of energy because of its role in climate change.

Given the conflict between the nation's power needs and environmental protection, what other choice does the government have? Unfortunately, until there is some kind of new energy revolution, mankind and coal will have to coexist.

Some people may wonder why governments do not use a cleaner type of energy, such as natural gas or renewable resources. The hard reality is that sources of natural gas are limited -- for example, one of the two contracts that Taiwan has with Indonesia to import liquid natural gas will expire in 2009 -- and generating electricity with renewable resources is costly and supply is unstable.

A rough comparison of sources of energy with similar heat value to coal shows that the price of crude oil is three times that of coal, while the cost of renewable energy sources is about three times that of crude oil. Unless Taiwan gives up economic development, it would be hard put to stop using coal.

Faced with this reality, is there a cleaner way of making use of coal? The answer is yes, there are many ways to utilize coal more efficiently. These methods include rinsing the coal before it is burned and mixed in cleansers, or using integrated gasification combined cycles. It is also possible to remove pollutants in the smoke chimney and capture carbon dioxide emissions.

Although it would be difficult for Taiwan to implement some of these technologies, it is not impossible. Unfortunately, these cleaner techniques are closely related to the quality of coal used. All these clean power production procedures would be useless without stocking up on the right kind of coal.

Does Taiwan have the appropriate stock? Would a shortage lead to reduced power supply? The crisis would be enormous, and it could happen before 2009.

The current top global coal importers are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and the UK. Before 2003, China was the world's second-largest coal exporter, but by January this year it had become a net importer. Estimates show that China requires more than 2.5 billion tonnes of coal per year, or 37 percent of global consumption. Although China has already certified it has 100 billion tonnes in reserves, its future demand for coal will continue to increase because of its massive need for fuel to generate electricity. China has also begun a fierce competition with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan on the coal market. Needless to say, Taiwan cannot rely on China for its coal imports.

The big players in the global coal business -- China, the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Indonesia -- have already formed an Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate to coordinate clean energy efforts. Taiwan's exclusion from the group, despite being the third-largest coal importer, leaves a large hole in its development and security. Guaranteeing a stable supply of suitable-quality coal and energy resources, especially with the impending expiration of Taiwan's contract with Indonesia, has become an important matter of national security.

Fang Liang-jyi is deputy general director of the energy research laboratory at the Industrial Technology Research Institute.

Translated by Daniel Cheng and Marc Langer
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