AQW 16964/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 26/03/2021
Answered On Date: 19/04/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy for her assessment of the environmental impact of coal power stations.

Answer:

Fuel Mix Disclosure and CO2 Emissions reports, supplied by the Utility Regulator, shows that there has been significant inroads in the reduction of coal as a source of power generation. Coal in the all-island fuel mix has reduced from 16% in 2010 to 2.6% in the most recent report in 2019.

Kilroot is the only EU ETS electricity generator in NI that continues to use coal as a fuel. The 2019 annual emission report, produced by DAERA, states that Kilroot emitted 1,010,033.348 tCO2 of which 968,049.345 tCO2 were from coal. Kilroot will be converted to a gas-powered station in 2023 which will mean that coal will be reduced to zero in the subsequent Fuel Mix Disclosure and CO2 Emissions reports.