Coal Energy S.A. (Luxembourg), a coal company with its main assets in Ukraine, which are currently under Russian occupation, signed a letter of intent with Polish mining company Siltech in mid-April to lease its real estate and infrastructure for coal mining in Poland.
“The main purpose of this letter of intent is to advance Coal Energy’s plan to apply for a license to extract coal from deposits adjacent to those owned by Siltech,” Coal Energy said in a stock exchange announcement.
It is noted that the lease is scheduled to begin at the end of 2025, after Coal Energy obtains all necessary permits to commence coal mining from the licensed deposits.
Coal Energy is expected to mine coal using Siltech’s existing mining infrastructure. This approach will reduce the time needed to start coal mining and eliminate the need for Coal Energy to invest in the construction of a new mining facility.
Coal Energy shares have been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since August 8, 2011. Its main activity was coal mining at two underground mines and working with coal dumps in the Donetsk region. According to the company, due to Russia’s aggression, it currently has no coal assets in Ukraine.
In recent years, the company has had virtually no operating activities. According to the latest report on Coal Energy’s website, its total assets at the end of September 2023 amounted to $9.7 million, while its liabilities amounted to $11.6 million and its capital was negative at $1.9 million.
At the end of 2023, the company acquired Ukrmineral Trading LLC with the aim of obtaining licenses for the extraction of minerals in Ukraine, as well as Advanced Industrial Technologies Sp. z.o.o. with the aim of providing underground mining services to coal mines in Poland. In addition, in early 2024, Coal Energy registered a new company, Greentech Solutions Sp. z.o.o., for the reclamation and processing of industrial waste dumps and mine tailings, as well as the reclamation of land destroyed by human activity.
The founder, chairman of the board of directors, and CEO is Viktor Vyshnevsky.
Wind and solar power in the first half of 2024 surpassed coal power in terms of capacity for the first time in Chinese history, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports, citing a report by the China Electricity Council (CEC). Thus, the share of wind and solar generation amounted to 38.4% (1180 GW) of the total installed capacity of 3070 GW, while the share of coal fell to 38.1% (1170 GW).
The CEC expects China to add about 300 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind power to the grid this year, bringing their combined capacity to more than 40% of the total installed capacity of 3,300 GW of all energy sources.
China, which is currently the world’s largest consumer, producer and importer of coal, will reduce its share in the energy balance to 37%, according to the SPP.
According to Rystad Energy analysts, the reason for this change is the growing emphasis on cleaner energy sources and the country’s rejection of fossil fuels. Until 2016, about 50 GW of coal-fired power plants were built annually in the country, but at the same time, China began to make significant investments in renewable energy.
Since 2020, the annual commissioning of wind and solar power plants has consistently exceeded 100 GW, which is three to four times more than the increase in coal capacity. Since then, this momentum has only gained momentum, and last year China set a record by increasing solar and wind power capacity by 293 GW.
The dynamics in coal power, on the contrary, is declining: in 2023, about 40 GW of coal generation was added, and in the first half of 2024, according to Rystad Energy, only 8 GW. “The government has imposed stricter restrictions on new coal projects to meet its carbon reduction targets. Efforts are now focused on phasing out small coal-fired power plants, modernizing existing ones to reduce emissions, and ensuring that new projects meet stricter standards. As a result, the annual gap in capacity expansion between coal and clean energy has increased dramatically, reaching a 16-fold difference in the first half of 2024,” the experts say.
Rystad Energy analysts predict that by 2026, only solar energy will surpass coal as the main source of energy in China. Thus, the total capacity of solar generation will exceed 1.38 terawatts (TW), which is 150 gigawatts (GW) more than coal capacity.
At the same time, clean energy in China faces significant challenges such as low utilization and interruptions as capacity grows. According to Rystad Energy, solving these problems requires significant improvements to the power grid to increase transmission flexibility and storage capacity. Batteries will also be critical to maintaining grid reliability, ensuring that stability is maintained while clean energy expands to meet the needs of a growing population.
CHINA, China aims to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. As part of this plan, Coal Energy, the share of non-fossil energy consumption should rise to about 25% by 2030. solar energy
Coal Energy, a coal mining company with assets in Ukraine, has acquired 100% of shares of Advanced industrial technologies Sp. z o.o. (Katowice, Poland) for EUR295 thousand (UAH 12.124 million).
According to Coal Energy’s announcement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Friday, the purchase was made in accordance with the company’s new development strategy for 2023-2026. Payment for the deal will be made within three months after the agreement is signed.
Advanced industrial technologies was established in 2018 and provides underground mining services for coal mines in Poland.
