Energy Crisis
In a World Fighting Climate Change, Fossil Fuels Take Revenge
Demand for coal is moving back near peak levels
Goldman’s Jeff Currie on the “revenge of the old economy.”
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With its chimneys towering 200 meters above the industrial heartland of England, West Burton A power station is a relic of the fossil fuel age. When fired up, its boilers burn thousands of tonnes of coal each day, spewing out the carbon dioxide that’s warming up the planet.
After more than 50 years of operation, it will close next year, part of a global transition into green energy sources like wind and solar. It’s only rarely used, but for several days in September, it was this old, polluting facility that kept the lights on in the U.K.