Old King Coal was once a merry old soul!
Once upon a time, coal delivered a fine service to Australia’s industrialisation. Angus M Robinson tells the story of the rise and inevitable decline of an antiquated energy source.
In the early 1980s, the then Premier Neville Wran was facing severe power ‘brownouts’ resulting from insufficient power supplies to service a burgeoning economy in NSW.
No worries, as the NSW coal industry sprang into action and another large coal-fired power station (Bayswater near Muswellbrook) to complement the Central Coast located Eraring was commissioned and completed by 1985.
The 1980s also saw the transition from closed underground mines across the Hunter and Illawarra coalfields to new open-cut mines focused on servicing rapidly growing export markets. Queensland joined the fray with the opening up of the Bowen Basin coalfields.
Coal was king and everyone was merry – even the very large Hunter Valley No 2 open cut mine was approved without even a major environmental inquiry. In its exuberance, the NSW Government even called international tenders for the conversion of the West Muswellbrook coal resources for a major ‘coal to oil’ industry.
The exploitation of Australia’s sub-bituminous coal resources was seen to be the only rational and politically acceptable option for meeting Australian domestic and global energy needs.
So the party continued for the next 20 years with the Hawke Government removing Joint Coal Board regulatory controls at the end of the century, with the industry moved progressively from predominantly Australian to overseas ownership and control.
But in recent years, an uninvited guest arrived – a messenger suggesting that unintended consequences had arisen through the generation of vast quantities of CO2 sourced from the burning of these riches.
Now sadly, Old King Coal’s party is coming to an end. His usurper, ‘Apollo Helios’, is now centre stage and is offering boundless supplies of almost free energy; in the US, at utility scale rates of 5 cents per kWh.
His adherents are also claiming that while solar power currently contributes about 1% of the world’s total electricity needs, by 2020, solar will have overtaken wind as the world’s largest alternative energy source, and by 2050, it will likely be the single largest energy source, renewable or otherwise.
And to kick a fellow when he is down, others are suggesting that future generations will see the process of coal mining, washing, coal handling and stockpiling, long distance rail and oceanic transport, and more stockpiling to supply overseas power stations as being mindlessly ‘so old hat’ and inefficent, when all you need to do is to capture what comes from the sky, every day, every week and every year! Oh, the cheek of them!
Well folks, that’s part of the story, but despite the efforts of coal mining lobby groups and energy modelling agencies such as Australia’s ABARE and the IEA, motivated by more hope than reality, challenge this synopsis.
Yes, it is agreed, coal mining will be around for a while yet, but any suggestion that the current situation is cyclical rather than structural is purely illusionary – global investors and the big mining companies such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton and the oil industry giants all understand the reality of technology disruption.
In areas of new and advanced materials, new technology developments are rapidly reducing costs and increasing energy efficiencies in photo-voltaic substrates.
Add to that the development in battery storage technologies, micro grid development and the move away from centralised power distribution as well as the uptake of energy efficiency programs are all ‘grist to the mill’.
Developing countries are seeing this combo as more attractive than just acceding to the claim by Australian politicians that they need to buy our coal to raise them out of poverty – such utter humbug!
Just like the transition a century ago from ‘horse and buggy’ to the automobile, no matter what technological advances are made in processing coal to reduce CO2 emissions, poor old King Coal has just run out of puff.
After years of fine service to Australia’s industrialisation, renouncement of the throne for King Coal won’t be easy, but in reality it is inevitable. It’s time to look to a ‘new energy’ future – one that will enable the creation of new industries and jobs for our grandchildren.
Angus M Robinson is an exploration geologist by profession. After the past 20 years working in technology and industry development executive roles (including The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering at The University of Sydney, the Australian Technology Park, and as the former CEO of the Australian Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers’ Association), he is now working in geotourism industry development, as well as maintaining his interest in manufacturing as the Co-moderator of the LinkedIn discussion group, Manufacturing on the Move.
Petra Liverani
October 4, 2015 at 10:25 pm
Symbolic statement by Malcolm Turnbull
To help push us to a solar world a statement from Malcolm Turnbull, "Solar is good for humanity" would have massive symbolic impact. Please sign and share. https://www.change.org/p/prime-minister-malcolm-turnbull-all-australians-solar-is-good-for-humanity
Max Thomas
October 7, 2015 at 2:05 am
Old King Coal
Nice one Angus. Coming from someone with your background, even the other old King (Canute) wouldn't dare risk trying to turn the tide against the energy revolution that's coming, despite the insistence of his deluded followers. I can't help but think of the passage in Lear, where the Fool convinces the King that he, the King, would make a good fool. I recall studying the greenhouse effect and climate change back in the 70's. We were then assured that Victoria would enjoy cheap electricity for centuries, based on brown coal. The old State Electricity Commission would provide free lighting plans for new houses and castles I suppose that could be seen from space. The King is dead, long live the King!
Angus M Robinson
October 22, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Old King Coal – News not good!
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/the-long-term-future-of-australian-coal-is-drying-up-73156