A month ago, we reported that E.ON had applied to build the first new coal-fired power plant in the UK for 33 years. This new application, we said, could open the floodgates to a spate of new coal power plants in the UK.
Unfortunately, it looks like we were right. Even before Medway Council has finished considering Eon’s application, two more energy companies have joined the rush, saying they're going to build three new coal-fired power plants of their own.
Given what we now know about climate change, how can energy companies hope to stage a comeback for the most polluting of all fossil fuels in the most polluting of all sectors?
The language used by the companies involved - E.ON, RWE, and Scottish and Southern - is revealing. The new plants, they say, are "super-critical", "state of the art" and "highly efficient". Eon's wording is typical: "E.ON UK is developing plans that could open a new chapter for UK coal generation, using state-of-the-art technologies that will see coal burned more cleanly than ever before in the UK..." RWE uses similar phrasing.
You probably won't be surprised to hear that burning coal is not in fact the new answer to climate change. It's true that the new "super-critical" plants will be marginally more efficient than our existing coal fired power plants, but they were built over three decades ago. If you compare the proposed plants to modern, genuinely efficient plants like those in Denmark, the results are scandalous:
The new "super-critical" units will only be about 45 per cent efficient. Power plants in Denmark - by using combined heat and power (CHP) - are achieving up to 90 per cent efficiency.
So the stakes are rising for Medway Council. As E.ON is the only company to have formally submitted a planning application, the other energy companies will be keeping a close eye on what happens next. If Medway Council give E.ON the go-ahead to build a new coal plant at Kingsnorth, they won't only be approving units that will each emit more carbon dioxide than 24 of the world’s lowest emitting countries combined. They will also be approving another 50 years of polluting and inefficient energy generation, using a system which allows two thirds of energy to be wasted. And they will be setting a precedent for the other new plants to also be approved and built around the country.
Medway Council are probably going to make a decision on E.0N's application in mid July. To say no to Kingsnorth and yes to a clean energy future, write a letter to Chris Butler, the planning officer in charge at the council, explaining that the UK doesn't need more outdated, inefficient coal fired power plants. We need an energy system that can meet the demands of the 21st century: decentralised energy, based on energy efficiency and renewables.
