Alberta: Still King of Coal

The world is watching the oil sands.

But if you want to talk about greenhouse gas emissions in Alberta, all eyes should be on coal. That's where our big emissions lie. Burning coal to make electricity releases 20 per cent more CO2 than the oil sands. And most of our power is made that way.

So why does coal fly below the radar and what's being done to clean up coal?

Featured Audio

Cleaner burning coal power plants

Could the future of coal happen more than a kilometer underground? A Calgary company developed a way to burn coal that produces a third of the emissions of current coal power plants. Jim talks with the president of Swan Hills Synfuels.

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Technology improves coal burning power plants

Another part of our continuing look at the coal industry in Alberta, Judy Aldous tells us about efforts to make coal a cleaner fuel.

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Coal's reputation compared to the oilsands

Coal is still the go-to source for electricity in Alberta. But it doesn't burn clean. Jim asks historian David Finch why coal flies below the radar, while the oilsands get all the scrutiny.

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Coal and greenhouse gas emissions

Judy Aldous tells us about a series starting this week about Alberta's biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. It's not the oil sands.

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By the numbers

Alberta's power sources

Coal: 5,893 megawatts
Gas: 4,635 megawatts
Hydro: 869 megawatts
Wind: 497 megawatts
Other renewables: 178 megawatts (wind, biomass, solar, run-of-river hydro)

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Alberta has more coal-fired plants than any other province in the country.
There are eleven coal-fired plants in Alberta:

Genesee 3 (TransAlta / CAPITAL)
Keephills (TransAlta)
Sheerness (TransAlta / ATCO)
Sundance (TransAlta)
Genesee 1 (CAPITAL)
Genesee 2 (CAPITAL)
Battle River (ATCO)
H.R. Milner (Milner)
Coal Valley near Edson, Alberta (Sherritt)
Obed Mountain Mine near Hinton, Alberta (Sherritt)
Keephills 3 (TransAlta / Capital)

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Coal Power: 53-70% of Alberta's electricity comes from burning coal

Compare to:
20% Ontario
0% BC

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Reserves

Alberta is home to 70% of Canada`s coal reserves.

In 2009, Alberta produced 31 million tonnes of coal, using 73% of it for electricity and selling the rest overseas to Asia.

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Revenue

Revenue for the province = $32.2 million in 2009
(Compared to $3 billion in royalties collected from oil sands projects)

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Emissions in Alberta

Coal - 44 MT of CO2 from burning coal for electricity
Oil Sands - 37 MT of Co2

7 of Top 10 Polluters in Canada are in Alberta - 5 are coal-fired electricity plants

#1 TransAlta's Sundance Power Plant (14,489,943 tonnes of CO2e) - COAL, ALBERTA
#2 Syncrude's Mildred Lake and Aurora North Plant (11,666,211tonnes of CO2e) - OIL SANDS, ALBERTA
#3 Genesee 1, 2 & 3 (9,545,018 tonnes of CO2e) - COAL, ALBERTA

Source: Environment Canada

Public Forum

Carbon Capture and Storage - Will it Work? Is it Worth It?

Capturing CO2 and storing it underground is being relied on to clean up coal and save our climate. Governments have committed $2B to the technology. But it's never been used at this scale. Will it work?  Can we afford it?  

4 experts debate the merits of CCS.

Forum Audio

Listen to a replay of the debate.

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