Lignite is still the main game in much of Europe

W

ith an output of 350 million tonnes, four EU countries – Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Greece – account for over a third of the world’s lignite production.

Renewable energies have cut into their profitability, but lignite producers are fighting back with increased deliveries and exports to third-party customers.

In addition, they avoid CO2 penalties under the EU Emission Trading Scheme by building plants below the 20 MW threshold.

For some observers, the divestment of fossil fuel investments by pension funds, foundations, and universities foreshadows the end of the Coal Age. Shale gas is unmistakably contributing to coal’s declining fortunes in the United States, where gas plants were already preferred before the advent of fracking. Solar and wind generation is likewise crowding fossil fuels from the power grid.

Global coal consumption still continues to rise, but corporate equity evaluations are plummeting.

Share prices on the New York Stock Exchange of the world’s largest private coal company, St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU), have dropped from over $72 in 2011 to currently below $3, falling by two thirds since the beginning of the year.

Read the EnergyPost story - “Lignite in Europe: fighting back renewables”.