Sweden's Last Coal Plant Gone 2 Years Early; Joins Austria, Belgium Among Coal-Free European States
Stockholm Exergi recently announced the closure of KVV6, Sweden’s last coal-fired co-generation plant, as reported by PV Magazine. The announcement came one day before Austria confirmed the permanent closure of its last remaining coal plant, bringing the total number of coal-free European countries up to three. Belgium was the first to phase out coal back in 2016.
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weden had originally pledged to be coal-free by 2022. However since KVV6 had not been used during the mild 2019-2020 winter and the decision was taken to shut it down permanently. The plant, located in Stockholm’s Hjorthagen neighborhood, was originally opened in 1989.
Stockholm Exergi CEO Anders Egelrud stated that Stockholm was almost entirely dependent on carbon-based fuels in the 80s and 90s, but that this is no longer the case. He believes that the capital is now ready to move on from carbon dependence and instead focus on renewable energy. He also stated that carbon neutral solutions shouldn’t be the only consideration when combating emissions and climate change. He highlighted that, in line with current research findings, carbon-negative solutions will be equally as important as carbon-neutral options in reducing the impact of emissions.
“We continue to work on the transition to climate-neutral solutions and also solutions to create negative emissions. Here, the researchers agree: We don’t only need to reduce our emissions to zero but also to develop techniques to specifically reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
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https://www.inquisitr.com/6021071/sweden-closes-last-coal-plant/
