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Show UK Developments in Industrial Coal Firing Introduction During the last ten years increased international tension in major oil producing areas of the world, together with a realisation that world oil resources are limited has led to a rapid rise in oil prices. As a result, coal has become increasingly competitive. Reserves of coal are very substantial and are expected to last for hundreds of years rather than decades for oil and gas. Coal, therefore, is beginning to regain its former importance in supplying world energy needs. The National Coal Board is responsible for coal production in the UK, with an annual output of 126 million tonnes from 220 deep mines and 70 opencast sites. About 70% of this coal is used for power generation and this market is not expected to expand because future increases in electricity demand are expected to be met by nuclear power. The market which is expected to expand significantly in the remainder of this century is the provision of heat and energy for industry. Coal's present share of the industrial market is about 13% (10 million tpa) and this is expected to increase about three fold by the year 2000. Because of the predominance of deep mining from relatively shallow coal seams in Europe, the coal price is higher than in the USA, typically 70% of the price of oil. Consequently it is more difficult for energy users to justify the high capital investment required to convert to coal. Thus there is a strong incentive for the NCB to encourage and assist manufacturers of boilers and coal firing equipment to develop new low cost designs which offer high amenity and require little maintenance. Until recently there has been little Government finance for these developments, but a scheme was introduced in 1981, which offers a 25% grant towards the cost of new industrial coal fired installations or conversions of existing boilers. The National Coal Board recognised the increased potential for coal at a very early stage, and initiated research and development 20-2 |