COAL INFORMATION (2011 Edition) PART II - II.17
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY
EFFICIENCY OUTLOOK FOR POWER
GENERATION FROM COAL
This is a selected excerpt from a report by the IEA
Coal Industry Advisory Board (CIAB), which is a
group of high-level executives from coal-related in-
dustrial enterprises, established by the IEA in July
1979 to provide advice to the IEA Executive Director
on a wide range of issues relating to coal. The CIAB
currently has 46 members from 21 countries, contrib-
uting valuable experience in the fields of coal produc-
tion, trading and transportation, electricity generation
and other aspects of coal use. Mr. Mike Garwood of
E.On was the primary author of the report. The full
report, "Power Generation from Coal: Measuring and
Reporting Efficiency Performance and CO
2
Emis-
sions", is available at:
http://www.iea.org/publications/free_new_Desc.asp?PU
BS_ID=2296.
The need for energy, together with the economics of
producing and supplying that energy to the end user,
are central considerations in power plant investment
decisions and operating strategies. Inevitably, there
will be a point at which higher efficiency and lower
emissions come at a cost which cannot be justified.
Where economic and regulatory conditions exist
which shift this balance consistently in favour of
higher efficiency and lower emissions, improvements
become a normal part of running a competitive busi-
ness. The trend over time has been towards improved
power plant performance.
Worldwide coal-fired power plant efficiency averaged
35.1% in 2007, compared with 33.5% in 1971.
1
1. On a lower heating value, gross electrical output basis, after correc-
tion for heat supply. The average efficiency in 2007 is estimated to be
32.6% on a net output basis, assuming power plant own use of approx-
imately 7%. The reported average efficiency would be lower if no
correction were made for heat supply (see Figure II.16).
Figures II.12, II.13, II.14 and II.15 illustrate the evo-
lution of efficiency in countries where coal is used
widely for electricity generation and heat supply. This
top-down assessment is based on annual coal con-
sumption and electricity supply data collected by the
IEA. Fuel energy input is on a net calorific value
(NCV) or lower heating value (LHV) basis, while
electricity output is on a gross basis (i.e. at the genera-
tor terminals, before any deduction for on-site elec-
tricity use); each being the basis adopted by the IEA
for reporting energy statistics. Heat supply is based on
the quantity of heat supplied under commercial ar-
rangements; the gross-net concept has no meaning for
heat supply. Efficiency is calculated after correcting
for heat supply using the methodology adopted by the
European Union.
2
While this assessment allows for a
comparison of coal-fired power generation efficiency
at the national level, it does not allow for performance
comparisons to be made between individual plants;
indeed, the IEA does not collect plant-level data.
Although drawing national comparisons is not the
purpose of this article, some observations can be made
on the four figures:
2. Directive 2004/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 11 February 2004 on the promotion of cogeneration based on a
useful heat demand in the internal energy market and amending Direc-
tive 92/42/EEC was published in the Official Journal of the European
Union, OJ L 52 on 21 February 2004 (pp. 50-60). Harmonised effi-
ciency reference values for the separate production of electricity and
heat were tabulated in Commission Decision 2007/74/EC (OJ L 32,
6 February 2007, pp. 183-188), with further detailed guidance in
Commission Decision 2008/952/EC (OJ L 338, 17 December 2008,
pp. 55-61).