http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2013/12/winning-pub...

http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2013/12/winning-public-support-for-the-future-of-coal-power.html

Winning Public Support for the Future of Coal

December 2013

By Robin Batterham Kernot
Professor of Engineering, The University of Melbourne for Conerstone


One of the more obvious ways for coal-fired power stations to reduce emissions is to work with hybrid solutions, e.g., rapid heat-up to allow better load following when wind and solar drop off. A consortium of companies, researchers, and government are exploring this option in northern Germany. Thus far, it has demonstrated great potential. In a similar vein, rapid start, rapid ramp rate coal-fired plants, such as the direct injection coal engine, could potentially offer a means to support greater proportions of renewables in a grid in the same way that open-cycle gas turbine plants can support renewables, potentially at a lower cost than with gas.