Poland ranked first in hard coal consumption in Europe with an estimated 74 million tonnes (Mt) in 2017, according to the latest Coal report of the International Energy Agency released Tuesday.
The report showed that Poland consumed 75 Mt of hard coal in 2016 and 74 Mt in 2017.
Germany followed Poland with 51 Mt and Turkey with 41 Mt. Compared with 2016, Turkey's hard coal consumption increased by 6 percent while Germany's consumption decreased by 16 percent.
Spain with 23 Mt, Italy with 15 Mt and the Netherlands with 15 Mt followed these countries.
In 2017, Germany generated 655 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, 0.9 percent or 6 TWh more than in 2016, of which 53 TWh were net exports, compared with 51 TWh in 2016.
With a share of 23 percent, lignite is still Germany’s largest single power source, although renewables as a whole accounted for 33 percent of the electricity produced in 2017.
- Coal fuels represent 33% of Turkey's electricity
According to the report, strong growth in industrial output drove up electricity demand in Turkey, leading to 8.3 percent or 23 TWh higher power generation with 297 TWh produced in 2017.
'Lower precipitation reduced hydropower output, so generation from both natural gas and coal (both hard coal and lignite) increased,' the report stated.
Coal-fired generation in Turkey grew 5.6 percent or by 5 TWh to 97 TWh, of which lignite accounted for 42 TWh.
The report noted that coal fuelled 33 percent of Turkey’s electricity generation with an installed capacity of 18.5 GW at the end of 2017. The commissioning of two 700-megawatt hard
coal-fired generators in ZETES-3 power plant in Catalagzi in Zonguldak in 2016 also propelled higher generation.
On the other hand, Germany ranked first with 171 million tonnes of lignite consumption last year in Europe.
Turkey followed Germany with 72 million tonnes and Poland with 61 million tonnes.
Some countries, namely Italy, France and Spain, did not consume lignite despite being a consumer of hard coal.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr