The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources in order to combat climate changes among the main harmed is the coal but it is still possible that the mineral will continue to be used, with the development of technologies to reduce the pollution generated by it.
The analysis is by experts consulted by the CNN Brasil Business who argue that it would not make sense to completely end the use of coal as a source of energy .
On the one hand, the continued use of the mineral represents a potential for energy security. At the same time, the end of the use of coal would also represent the end of the entire sector linked to the commodity in Brazil.
This sector focuses almost entirely on South in the country, according to Fernando Luiz Zancan, president of the Brazilian Association of Mineral Coal (ABCM). The reason is the high concentration of reserves in the region, in the so-called Brazilian “carboniferous belt”.
Currently, coal extraction is concentrated in the states of Rio Grande do Sul with about 89% of the reserves and the municipality of Candiota in the spotlight, and Santa Catarina , with 9%, especially in the Criciúma region. There is still less activity in the Paraná .
There are different types of coal, with some being more suitable for generating energy and others for industrial use. In the Brazilian case, the coal extracted is the first type.
“We basically use 83% of the national coal to supply thermoelectric plants, which also end up in the south of the country”, explains Zancan.
According to him, 1.7% of total energy generation in Brazil came from coal, with 0.9% coming from domestic coal and 0.8% imported, transported from ports in the states of Ceará and Maranhão.
The small part of domestic coal used in industrial processes is usually destined for heating and drying, while the imported part goes to steel mills, with an important role in steel production.
Zancan states that the coal industry currently moves around R$ 9 billion in Brazil. In Santa Catarina alone, it is R$ 5 billion, being responsible for 53 thousand direct and indirect jobs.
“The importance of coal is this, it has the mine, transport, plant, maintenance. You have to put people to work, open a plant, maintenance. It is a very intensive sector in terms of employment and income”, highlights the president of ABCM.
In this sense, he believes that one consequence is that the sector is put at risk as the energy transition progresses. Without dismissing the importance of the process, Zancan argues that it is important to avoid “demonizing” coal.
transition and coal
Worldwide, coal corresponds to 38% of the electricity matrix, which indicates the importance of the source, says UFRGS professor Jorge Gavronski.
The trend, he says, is for coal to gain a little more space despite the transition movement, benefiting from energy security concerns amid the war in ukraine and the pandemic .
“The world cannot just rely on renewables, even though they are growing a lot, because they are intermittent and depend on time. You need to have security, which are thermal energies: nuclear, coal, gas or oil”, emphasizes the professor.
The Brazilian picture, however, is different. Since the 1970s, the country has opted for a more renewable and cleaner matrix by prioritizing hydroelectric plants. More recent data indicate that just over 50% of the energy matrix is renewable, one of the highest levels in the world.
just thinking about thermoelectric coal has also lost ground in recent years to natural gas , seen as a less polluting alternative. There is also biogas and biomass, considered cleaner.
In the case of Brazil, the gas alternative has been gaining even more support after the discoveries of large deposits in the pre-salt indicating a growth trend for this source.
According to Gravonski, the combination of loss of space for natural gas and strong criticism due to environmental impacts already affect the coal sector in Brazil.
“In Criciúma, the plants have managed to postpone operating contracts, but it does not seem that the sector will grow, the effort has been to maintain, there are no investments to modernize”, he points out.
In Rio Grande do Sul, the professor says that “there were coal plants that closed, so exploration is in decline. What remains are the plants in the Candiota region, where it makes sense to generate via coal from the reserves and a position to generate thermal energy at the end of the system, has a logic behind it”.
The tendency, however, is that, when the thermoelectric power plants’ operating contracts come to an end, the mining and the rest of the chain also begin to decline, reducing the size of the sector.
For the professor, it is this strategic use of coal, as a safe energy source in regions with high production potential, that still makes sense in Brazil, and could give the mineral a survival, reducing the economic impact of the lack of exploration.
In the case of Candiota, he argues that it is “advantageous to maintain this scheme, until it expands, with support and incentive measures. Even this area has faced difficulties due to the lack of funding, whether national or international, with a withdrawal of support for the sector”.
Gravonski’s view is that projects like Candiota’s, which combine exploration and generation of energy via coal, are necessary “even from an environmental point of view. It would be interesting to discuss more about, from a technical point of view, maintaining a system with controlled, regulated emissions”.
And, thinking from this perspective, technology could end up being an important lifeline for the sector.
Zancan cites a recent federal effort, with the launch of the Sustainable Coal Plan, to “work on developing technologies and aiming to achieve zero carbon”.
“It is not about stopping using it, it is about decarbonizing it, which is not about ending the fossil, it is about ending the emission”, he explains. The great technology behind it, he says, is the capture of carbon that is, the polluting gases emitted in the burning of coal.
However, he believes that “the speed of this process depends on the movement of rich countries, in terms of technology, to develop and reach Brazil”.
The president of ABCM highlights that “the industry recognizes that it emits and is working to capture carbon, because otherwise it has no life. We have an untouched pre-salt coal, but it will only be able to be used, to produce hydrogen, for example, if it captures carbon”.
Zancan also notes that coal-fired thermoelectric plants are the cheapest in terms of cost and expansion. But a study by the Energy Research Company (EPE ) also points out that they emit the most polluting gases.
In his view, the strategic role of coal tends to gain space in public policies after cases such as water crisis of 2021, in which “if there were no thermal plants, with the scarcity of water, there would have been a blackout in the country”.
“It is necessary to have all sources operating in order to have energy security, and national sources, which do not depend on international prices, as is the case with coal”, he emphasizes.
Discover the types of renewable energy
For Zancan, “decarbonizing is not ending up with fossils, it is not going to renewable energy, it is going to clean energy, and that includes thermal plants with carbon capture, hence the importance of creating this industry, and having this security”.
Gravonski notes that, looking at the issue of profitability, it still makes “complete sense” to have coal-fired thermoelectric plants in the South.
However, “licenses are expensive, and the benefit of thermal plants for the stability of the system is not yet understood. The Candiota plants would provide cheaper energy. It would make sense, but there is a lot of difficulty.”
The professor sees a regional potential for the energy use of the mineral, but that will demand, in addition to carbon capture technologies, an “understanding of society, in addition to giving guarantees to investors, legal certainty, reinforcing the importance”.
“The issue of transition ends up being reduced to demonization. I think the subject is still dealt with emotionally, lacking a strategic look. The good news is that renewables are getting cheaper, gaining scale and investments. The problem is having thermal plants to be safe, and society still doesn’t understand that much”, he opines.
Source: CNN Brasil
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