Quote:
Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper
The time to invest in our own refining and upgrading capacities has come and gone however, the time for exploration and efficient shipping to existing refining capacity is not yet over. These investments can become profitable in relatively short period. The world still employs coal for its energy needs. That was supposed to be nearly phased out by now. To say this will all be gone in 40 years is just a tad optimistic (as much as it would be a great thing for our collective future (but not Canadas))
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This is bang on. Alberta is on track to have retired the last coal units by the end of 2023, only to be replaced with modestly better gas generators. It won't be long before the climate folks put pressure on them to move to non-emitting generation, likely long before the end of their economic life. That makes for a very different investment decision and will certainly lead to higher prices for consumers and industry in the near and medium term.
Sadly, coal use in the US has gone up
16% in the past year. As gas supply in Europe tightens due to the conflict in Ukraine, I would expect the coal use in Europe to increase year over year.
From a pure climate perspective, Energy East was the pipeline we needed with an LNG terminal in the Maritimes to get gas to Europe. That was a huge missed opportunity, especially when one considers the current state of the energy crisis in Europe.
The silver lining in all of this was the last time the world had such a severe energy shock in the 1970s, that was the impetus to get the current fleet of nukes built.
The answer to the climate question is not renewables. We need safe, reliable, cost-effective, non-emitting base load generation. That starts and ends with nuclear.