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Bangladesh power system gets dirtier on rapid coal usage development: Maguire

Coal is on course to surpass natural gas as the primary source of electricity in Bangladesh, intensifying regional emissions and making complex international efforts to cut use of highpolluting fossil fuels.

Bangladesh power firms more than doubled coal-fired electricity generation in 2023 from 2022 to a record 17 terawatt hours (TWh), information from energy think tank Ash shows.

Over the same period, natural gas-fired electrical energy output increased by just 4.7% to 47.44 TWh.

The sharp dive in coal usage relative to gas use resulted in a big swing in the country's electrical energy generation mix, with coal accounting for a record 21.1% share of overall generation, up from simply 7% 2 years previously.

The share of natural gas-fired output fell to around 59% in 2023 from 66% in 2021 and 76.4% in 2019.

Coal could emerge as the if energies keep increasing coal-fired generation at a. faster much faster rate gas-fired output. main source of electricity in Bangladesh within the existing. decade, weakening worldwide efforts to cut coal use.

UNDER PRESSURE

Bangladesh, amongst the world's largest clothing producers and. exporters, has experienced sharp growth in energy need from. its population and services. The nation has garment factories. that take in power around the clock, and overall energy use also. has actually climbed up along with financial development.

Real gdp (GDP) development in Bangladesh has. averaged 6.2% over the previous five years, more than two times the. global average, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The county's power suppliers have struggled to keep up,. resulting in regular power failures last year.

To prevent similar setbacks in 2024, authorities have directed. electrical power generators to utilize more coal, and have authorized. record big coal imports.

The country already receives routine thermal coal materials. By truck and train from neighbour India, however in 2023. increased seaborne imports by 47% to a record 12.7 million metric. tons, according to ship tracking data assembled by Kpler.

Bangladesh's average annual seaborne imports from 2017 to. 2021 were 6.8 million heaps, so the jump to near 13 million. lots in 2015 assisted lift the country to 12th on the list of. global thermal coal importers in 2023, from 14th in 2022.

With numerous countries taking steps to progressively minimize. coal-fired power generation and imports, Bangladesh will likely. rise even more in coal import rankings.

EMISSIONS IMPACT

Coal-fired generation has actually pressed Bangladesh power sector. emissions to tape-record highs: just under 60 million tons of carbon. dioxide emissions in 2023, up from 58.3 million tons in 2022,. according to Coal.

That emissions load was approximately a 24% rise from 2019.

The carbon intensity of electrical energy generation has likewise. climbed up. Roughly 741,500 tons of carbon dioxide was given off to. generate each kilowatt hour of electrical power produced in 2023, up. When coal use was roughly half of the, from 723,200 tons in 2022. levels seen in 2023.

Coal-fired generation is still increasing, with 2.11 TWh of. electrical power generated from coal in January, up greatly from 0.83. TWh a year previously.

Imports of thermal coal are likewise rising, with seaborne. purchases through March amounting to just over 3 million loads, up. from around 2.5 million lots during the exact same duration in 2023.

If Bangladesh's coal usage and imports remain strong, 2024. will likely set a record for both coal-fired generation and. emissions. It might potentially balance out any decreases seen. in other places in regards to coal intake and pollution, with. Bangladesh emerging as a center for coal need even as much of the. remainder of the world turns its back on the fuel.

<< The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a. columnist .>

(source: Reuters)