The report is the first global research in the form of “station by station” for the current and future water needs of the coal power stations. The research also identifies the regions which are already in a water deficiency, where the existing and future coal power stations will only quicken the pace of exhausting of the water resources.
“If all plans for building of coal stations are implemented, the water used by the coal stations on a world scale will almost be doubled. Now we know that coals not only pollute our air and are among the reasons for climate change, but also deprive us of one of the most valuable and important resources - water”, comments Harry Lami, chief coordinator of the world campaign in “Greenpeace”.
Around the world 8359 existing coal stations already consume water enough to satisfy the needs of 1 billion people. A quarter of the proposed new coal power stations are planned in regions where the flowing water is already deficient and water is consumed more quickly than it is restored in a natural way. The “Greenpeace” report calls these regions “hot areas”.
The countries with proposals for increase of the coal capacity, which are in “hot areas” are China (237 GWt), India (52 GWt) and Turkey (7 GWt). Almost half of the proposed Chinese stations are placed in regions of “hot areas”. In India and China these are about 13%.
Coals are one of the most water-consuming ways of electricity production. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) coals could be responsible for 50% increase in the world water consumption during the next 20 years. The “Greenpeace” research shows that if the proposed new stations happen, their water consumption will increase by 90%. Having in mind the deepening water crisis in a large number of the coal regions, it is incredible that plans for hundreds of new coal stations are even discussed.
In 2014 “Greenpeace” – Bulgaria published the report “Water for life or water for coals”, which considers the link of the coal stations in the country with the quantity and quality of water resources. “The conclusions of the report for our country are similar: for cooling in energy industry is used 13 fold more water than for irrigation. At the same time the landfill of the waste of production and burning pollutes the underground and ground waters and increases their acidity”, comments Teodora Stoyanova, coordinator of the “Climate and energy” campaign for “Greenpeace” – Bulgaria.
“Greenpeace” proposes three key steps, which if together undertaken could reverse water usage by the coal sector:
• Immediate moratorium on the increase of coal stations in regions with water problems and shift from “water-thirsty” coals to energy sources which use little or no water, such as solar or wind stations;
• Closure of stations which have been acting for 40 years. The USA only could save the impressing 9 billion cubic metres water on closing their old coal power stations;
• Replacement of the planned coal stations in the regions of “hot areas” with renewable energy, such as solar or wind, will lead to saving of 1,8 billion cubic metres water per year in China and of 1,2 billion cubic metres water per year in India.
The full report "Water for life or water for coals" of "Greenpeace" – Bulgaria
The new "Greenpeace" report in English
The coal power stations in the world use quantities of water enough to meet the needs of 1 billion people
