The dark (side) strikes back?

Coal, emblem of the 19th century and an already distant industrial revolution, belongs definitively to the past. Its disappearance is being recorded everywhere, and it’s only a question of closing polluting coal-fired power stations and replacing them with other renewable, cleaner energies.

And yet… coal is still not quite ‘historic and picturesque’, buried in heaps in northern France, an area declared UNESCO World Heritage site in 2012. Coal is not dead – far from it – and it’s even shaking the energy markets.

Indeed, the price of coal continues climbing, even reaching its highest level in nearly 6 years now. Contrary to the current progression of fuel mix and declarations of ecological intents, the price of coal is increasing, and, together with a rising carbon price, the dark spread is expanding its empire across energy markets…

From a difficult exit…

On 20 April 2017, the press was running headlines on the first coal-free day in the UK’s electricity mix in 135 years. Ahead of the implementation of new European environmental standards in 2021, and in the light of rising carbon costs and falling renewable energy costs, electricity producers are steering away from coal. Most surprisingly, however, is that mining companies are following suit: Think BHP, the Anglo-Australian coal giant who, in spring, walked out and slammed the door on… the World Coal Association! Deeming the lobby too climate-change-sceptical, BHP decided to withdraw from thermal coal. This departure was soon followed by that of another giant, Rio Tinto, who likewise turned away from thermal coal. One could think that it’s a conclusive disenchantment.

However, the reality of the market remains quite different: in Europe, coal-fired power stations continue to provide the marginal MW, which sets the price of electricity. The price of electricity remains strongly correlated with that of the API#2 index.

Although, and according to Carbon Tracker, European coal-fired power plants operators could lose 22 billion euros in Europe between now and 2030, (with German operators accounting for one third of these losses – 7 billion -, and the Poles, 3 billion), only seven countries in the European Union have planned to renounce  to coal-generated electricity by 2030 (the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and Portugal), which hardly accounts for 27% of the total installed coal-fired power generation capacity. Poland is refusing to do this, as is Spain, which has paid 400 million euros so that its coal power stations can install filters (considered an unfair competitive advantage by the European Commission).

Even in Germany, which urgently needs to abandon coal if it wants to deliver on its commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% between now and 2020, coal and lignite still provide for 36% of the country’s electricity production. The ‘Coal Commission’ is working towards this exit: it should release its first analyses as early as autumn this year, but these are already under attack by RWE.

In Europe, the sector still seems to hope that some coal-fired power plants closures among competitors will drive up electricity prices; above all, it’s counting on the support of the States.

In the United States, despite Trump’s vote-seeking decision to undo his predecessor’s ‘Green Power Plan’ and suspend the Federal CO2 emission limits, coal mining does not appear to need to start back up in the face of cheap extraction of shale gas. However, again, coal power stations are often the forces that set the marginal price of electricity.

… to a paradoxical resurgence…

Since the end of 2015 and COP21 in Paris, coal has certainly been the subject of much criticism, even large-scale disinvestment campaigns, and being designated ‘climate enemy number one’; nevertheless, this fuel remains by far the primary source of electricity across the globe, accounting for 38% of the world’s electricity production, the same share as that in… 1998!

So, first of all, there was a recovery in primary energy consumption pushing up the price of coal. Then, a localised demand in the Asia-Pacific region, which, today, accounts for three quarters of the global demand – as opposed to 50% fifteen years ago – owing to economic development and soaring population growth. According to the IEA, the International Energy Agency, the planet is expected to consume more than 5.5 billion tonnes of coal by 2021. Among all of the fossil fuels, dark matter is indeed the most abundant and remains the least expensive.

Figure 2World coal production and consumption in million tonnes of oil equivalent (Source: bp-stats-review-2018-full-report)

BP also reminds us in its 2018 Statistical Review of World Energy that the fleet of coal-fired power stations is young: nearly half of the electrical capacities of this fleet has been built over the past 12 years, and many new facilities are still being planned or under consideration, particularly in South-East Asia. Therefore, these power stations could still be in service in 2050, in the absence of any policies accelerating their closure.

… before a market turning point?

There has thus been a rise in coal prices, spurred by demand, but today, this increase is accompanied by a paradigm shift in the market: since 2014, global coal production had been in decline, but it’s been back on the rise since last year, and strains on stocks have eased.

The coal market, which was characterised for many years by its backwardation (short-term prices distinctly higher than long-term prices), is in the process of making a correction. The trend remains bullish, but there is a short-term stagnation, where prices are rising for longer maturities. This is a strong sign that (i) production has sufficiently increased to secure winter supplies and (ii) uncertainties over supply in the years to come are growing.

A paradigm shift and a flatter price curve which, in the event of a warm winter and in accordance with the policy adopted by China, could quickly lead to a downturn in the coal market, leading to a contango situation. Coal, which we’d given up for dead in a world committed to battling global warming, hasn’t finished reinventing itself and setting the markets ablaze…

Jean-Charles Bissié

Suscribe to our Newsletter

Each month, one of our experts publishes an article describing his view on a specific topic of the constant changes taking place in the energy market, with special focus on the French market.

Profesional Experience & Education

Diego graduated in Political Economy at King’s College University (London – 2021). He started his professional career in a family business in Madrid as an operations manager. Diego then studied a Master in Management and Master in Computer Science at IE University (Madrid – 2022), during which he participated as an Information Technology (IT) intern in a startup. In May 2023, Diego joined the HES team as an intern specialised in programming models. In his first project, he developed a software tool for modelling the unavailability of the French nuclear fleet. Afterwards, Diego has also participated in the development of new software tools for modelling price curves, generation asset performance and other topics related to the energy market. 

Diego Marroquin

Junior Consultant

Haya Energy-6

Profesional Experience

Céline joined Haya Energy Solutions in November 2021 as marketing and administration manager. She had a first professional experience in the tourism sector as a social media manager. At HES, her activities are focused on the development of the company’s visibility at European level through: commercial actions, content marketing and development of brand strategy. Céline is also involved in the management of the company’s communication: optimisation of the website (WordPress & Elementor), LinkedIn, publication of the monthly newsletter and the organisation of conferences. Céline participates in energy projects with the clients and acts as coordinator and project manager. Finally, she is in charge of administration (accounting, expenses management, invoicing).   

Education

Céline graduated in Spanish and English Philology at La Sorbonne (France – 2018) and holds a Master’s degree in Project Management and Cultural Tourism (Clermont-Ferrand/ Buenos Aires – 2021). 

Céline Haya Sauvage

Marketing Responsible

Céline Sauvage

Investment Advice

“Decarbonization of the Energy and Transport sectors is arguably today’s main economic driver for the industry.”

Profesional Experience

His career started in civil engineering as a Project Manager in France, Martinique and Australia. Afterwards, he became the General Manager of a subsidiary in Venezuela. In 1992, he established Dalkia in Germany (district heating, cogeneration, and partnerships) and represented Véolia in Thailand. In 2000, he opened the commercial office of Endesa in France to take advantage of the liberalized retail market. From 2006, as a development Manager at Endesa France, he led Endesa’s plan for Combined Cycle generation in France and developed the wind and PV portfolio of Snet at the same time. Philippe Boulanger worked for 3 years at E.ON’s headquarters coordinating the company´s activities in France. He was strongly involved in the French hydro concession renewal project. As a Senior Vice President – Project Director at Solvay Energy Services from April 2012 to February 2014 he was in charge of the H2/Power to gas and European direct market access deployment projects. Philippe has been an HES expert since 2014.

Education

Philippe Boulanger holds engineering degrees both from the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale des Ponts & Chaussées (France) and has a combined experience of more than 25 years in energy and infrastructure. In addition to English, Mr. Boulanger is fluent in French, German & Spanish.

Philippe Boulanger

Electricity Expert

HES-Philippe-Boulanger

“The world is changing. New investors pay particular attention to the energy sector while historical actors adapt their position to the market.”

Profesional Experience

Antonio started his career in the electricity sector in 1991 working as a member of the General Manager’s team at Sevillana de Electricidad (Spain). In 1997, he was appointed head of commercial regulation at Endesa Distribución. In 2000, he joined the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) department of Endesa Europe. He was appointed Managing Director of Endesa Power Trading Ltd (UK) in 2003. A year later, he became responsible for energy management at SNET (France). In 2008, he was appointed Managing Director of SNET (France). In 2009, he became Director of Corporate Development at E.ON France. In 2011, he founded Haya Energy Solutions (HES), a consulting firm focused on optimising the energy management of consumers, producers and retailers of gas and electricity. From 2015 to 2018, Antonio combined the consulting activity at HES with the general management of 2 production facilities in France (2 CCGTs x 410MW), owned by KKR. At the end of 2018, he joined Asterion Industrial Partners, an infrastructure investment fund, as an operating partner. Antonio currently devotes most of his efforts to the Asterion Portfolio, while advising through HES companies in the energy sector in France, Italy, Germany, UK and Spain. 

Education

Antonio graduated from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros of Seville (Spain) and holds an MBA degree from Deusto University (Spain). 

Antonio Haya

CEO