Electricity from coal and gas-a cost comparison

The EC Large Combustion Plant Directive requires the UK power generating companies to reduce emissions of SO₂ by 60% by the year 2003 (based on 1980 SO₂ emission levels). Coal provides approximately 60% of the UK power generating capacity and has a high sulphur content relative to other major sources of electrical energy in the UK. Combined cycle gas-fired power stations (CCGT) emit negligible quantities of SO₂ if burning sweet (or treated) gas. It has been argued that, for the UK to reduce its emissions to the levels required under the EC Large Combustion Plant Directive, the most cost-effective approach would be to construct new gas-fired generating capacity. It has also been claimed that the only way in which coal-fired power stations can have an acceptable environmental performance is by the retrofitting of flue gas desulphurisation (FGD). The controversy concerning the closure of 31 coal pits and the ensuing loss of jobs, together with the so-called ´dash for gas´, has resulted in increasing attention being paid to the relative costs of electricity generated from coal and gas. In this article, the relative costs of electricity from coal and gas are compared. The analysis is based on a comparison of the costs of electricity from existing coal-fired power stations retrofitted with FGD and from new CCGTs