2012年是煤炭的又一個(gè)好年景。是那個(gè)歐洲第一大發(fā)電燃料聯(lián)合并保持我們最經(jīng)濟(jì)的安全的電源。男人和女人在我們這個(gè)行業(yè)工作的人——將近四分之一一百萬–可以為自己的貢獻(xiàn)感到驕傲他們對(duì)社會(huì)的影響?？煽康哪茉词鞘乾F(xiàn)代社會(huì)的基礎(chǔ)?？杀氖?，精力供應(yīng)是理所當(dāng)然的，除了危機(jī)。EURACOAL會(huì)員制作精良促進(jìn)布魯塞爾理性辯論的立場(chǎng)。我們對(duì)氣候和能源的務(wù)實(shí)解決方案挑戰(zhàn)將使能源結(jié)構(gòu)，降低能源供應(yīng)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。然而，所有太多的決策者對(duì)煤炭，更愿意想象一場(chǎng)綠色革命。除了氣候和能源政策，歐元危機(jī)繼續(xù)占據(jù)主導(dǎo)地位2012年的歐盟政治——世界各地的政治家都在努力尋找持久的恢復(fù)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)的措施。事實(shí)證明，緊縮措施不受歡迎，尤其是考慮到能源價(jià)格仍然居高不下。廉價(jià)頁(yè)巖氣對(duì)美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的提振作用不大可能是反映在歐洲聯(lián)盟，重要成員國(guó)反對(duì)剝削。相反，“綠色增長(zhǎng)”的概念得到了推廣，沒有任何地方比“能源轉(zhuǎn)型”已經(jīng)加入了從焦慮到時(shí)代精神的德語(yǔ)單詞將成為英語(yǔ)的一部分語(yǔ)言。德國(guó)能源轉(zhuǎn)型的成本已經(jīng)很高，很可能因?yàn)殡娏Φ膯挝怀杀緵]有下降，但是隨著更多的風(fēng)和更多的光伏電池被投入使用而上升。謝天謝地，德國(guó)仍然有能力從煤和褐煤。在2012年關(guān)閉8千兆瓦核電站之后天然氣價(jià)格如此之高，可再生能源補(bǔ)貼越來越扭曲即使是最新的循環(huán)燃?xì)廨啓C(jī)工廠也閑置著煤炭褐煤也享受到了令人垂涎的基本負(fù)荷市場(chǎng)。2012年，煤炭和德國(guó)褐煤產(chǎn)量增長(zhǎng)了4%，新的Boxberg和Neurath的發(fā)電機(jī)組。在歐洲其他地方，我們也看到了類似的情況：煤炭是首選昂貴的天然氣；新核武器的成本上升；以及成本負(fù)擔(dān)可再生能源的問題變得更加清楚。然而，這個(gè)好消息并不普遍。進(jìn)口煤表現(xiàn)特別好：相對(duì)較高的煤價(jià)從2007年到2011年都是歷史，國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)商發(fā)現(xiàn)這一點(diǎn)更加困難去競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。在波蘭，國(guó)內(nèi)煤炭庫(kù)存急劇上升，但該國(guó)繼續(xù)進(jìn)口煤炭。在希臘，褐煤取代了昂貴的天然煤用于發(fā)電的天然氣，在匈牙利，家庭已經(jīng)變得穩(wěn)定取暖燃料。

2012 was another good year for coal. It was the  No. 1 fuel for power generation in the European  Union and remained our most economic and  secure source of electricity. The men and women  who work in our industry – almost one quarter  of a million – can be proud of the contribution  that they make to society. Reliable energy is  fundamental to our modern society. Sadly, energy  supply is taken for granted, except in times of  crisis. EURACOAL members developed well-crafted  positions to promote a rational debate in Brussels.  Our pragmatic solutions to the climate and energy  challenge would allow a balanced and affordable  energy mix, reducing energy supply risks. Yet, all  too many policy makers turn a blind eye towards  coal, preferring to imagine a green revolution. More than climate and energy policy, the euro crisis continued to dominate  EU politics during 2012 – politicians everywhere struggled to find durable  measures to restore economic growth. Austerity measures proved to be  unpopular, especially given that energy prices remained stubbornly high.  The boost given to the US economy by cheap shale gas is not likely to be  mirrored in the European Union, with important Member States against its  exploitation. Instead, the concept of “green growth” is promoted, nowhere  more so than in Germany where “Energiewende” has joined a handful of  German words – from angst to zeitgeist – to become part of the English  language. The costs of the German energy transition, already high, are likely  to become higher still because the unit costs of electricity are not falling, but  rising as more wind and more PV are commissioned. Thankfully, Germany  still has the capacity to generate almost half of its electricity needs from  coal and lignite. Following the closure of 8 GW of nuclear plants in 2012 and  with gas prices so high and subsidised renewables increasingly distorting  the merit order such that even the newest CCGT plants are lying idle, coal  and lignite have enjoyed the coveted base-load market. In 2012, coal and  lignite production grew by 4% in Germany with the opening of large new  generation units at Boxberg and Neurath. Elsewhere in Europe, we witnessed a similar situation: coal was preferred  over costly gas; the costs of new nuclear escalated; and the cost burden  of renewables became clearer. However, this good news was not universal.  Imported coal did particularly well: the relatively high coal prices enjoyed  from 2007 to 2011 are history and domestic producers are finding it harder  to compete. In Poland, domestic coal stocks rose sharply and yet the country  continued to import coal. In Greece, lignite has displaced expensive natural  gas for power generation and, in Hungary, households have turned to solid  fuels for heating.