Let's get semi-serious about coal here for a moment, seeing as how our provincial government has determined that it does, indeed, have a future as a source of fuel for producing power and other things.
I say other things, because I recall a message that was delivered by a resource industry guru a number of years ago, who during a presentation in Estevan, spelled out a variety of things that could be produced from coal as valued added products ... if anyone was interested.
But that is not what this is about. This is about coal, our coal, that can and will be used as an economic engine driver for several more decades.
In recent years, with all the attention being paid to the Bakken oil play, coal and its importance in this community has taken a secondary role, when, in reality, it shouldn't have since it continues to be of vital economic and social importance.
Now, with a $1.24 billion project underway, attention has shifted back to our lignite friend and we are learning that we can have two best friends in the business and industrial world. Oil and coal can be compatible as can coal and potash and oil and wheat or uranium. Resources are resources and they can be mined effectively and in concert with other resources and commodities. We just have to pay attention and understand the challenges that each sector encounters along its way.
Can clean coal be commercially viable?
That appears to be the biggest and most important question facing SaskPower and Sherritt Coal and the other players right now.
As a non-subsidized power supplier, can clean coal work?
Skeptics and some analysts say no. The cost of cleaning coal is too high. Electricity rates will have to soar unless the process is subsidized.
But that's before valued added business comes into play.
We have learned that the off-product carbon dioxide that used to be considered an expense in the process, now has real value as a resource for enhanced oil recovery. Now the tables shift a bit in favour of clean coal.
The expense of carbon capture is reduced exponentially with each succeeding unit that is attached to an existing smokestack. By the time 19 or 20 of them have been crafted and installed, the costs will diminish in relative terms. But we are not fools, we know that the technology has to work.
We're betting it will.
In terms of cost analysis, coal, as it exists now, is among one of the best fuel sources, but it is dirty and with new environmental awareness, status quo is not on.
Right now natural gas is competitive. As long as the cost of raw gas remains low, it belongs in the mix as a power producer, but make no mistake, it too, emits noxious gases, maybe not as much as coal, but it ain't the saviour folks. And if the price of gas ever goes up, as we know it will, it will diminish in value.
Hydro is a great source for power ... as long as the water runs. For the past two years, it's hard to imagine a water shortage in this province, but it wasn't too many years ago hydro output had to be curbed. There is also a limitation to availability of this resource.
So within all this, coal has remained the constant, reliable tool to fuel growth.
Can clean coal compete with all the environmental darlings such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass?
Certainly it can. All these power sources require subsidization and not all of them are as reliable as coal for the obvious reasons that have frequently been spelled out, such as the wind needing to blow, but not too hard, solar panels having to be built using rare earth components, needing to be installed and frequently cleaned ... and so on.
I could go on, but our space is limited, even though we use recycled paper to print on. We all have our limitations, as does coal. But for now, we like what we see when we see king coal.
