Carbón II power station
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Carbón II power station (Central termoeléctrica Carbón II) is an operating power station of at least 1400-megawatts (MW) in Nava, Coahuila, Mexico.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Carbón II power station | Nava, Nava, Coahuila, Mexico | 28.468066, -100.697606 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 28.468066, -100.697606
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: bituminous | 350 | subcritical | 1993 | 2029 (planned) |
| Unit 2 | operating | coal: bituminous | 350 | subcritical | 1993 | 2029 (planned) |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal: bituminous | 350 | subcritical | 1995 | 2029 (planned) |
| Unit 4 | operating | coal: bituminous | 350 | subcritical | 1996 | 2029 (planned) |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100%] | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100%] | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100%] | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100%] | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100.0%] |
Background
Operated by CFE (Mexico's federal electricity commission) since 1993, the Carbón II plant is one of Latin America's largest coal-fired power stations.[1][2] The plant's four generating units have a capacity of 350 MW each, for a total capacity of 1400 MW.[1][3]
Coal for the plant is sourced from the Micare Coal Mine.[4][5][6]
Proposed shutdown & the politics of decarbonization
The Mexican government's 15-year energy development plan for 2018-2032 calls for all four units of the Carbón II power plant to be taken offline in 2029, removing 1400 MW of coal-fired electricity from the national energy mix and making Carbón II the only coal-fired power plant in the country with a specific proposed shutdown date.[7][8]
Since 2017, Mexico has been a member of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a group of nations that have pledged to phase out existing coal plants.[9][10] However, the country's stated commitment to decarbonization has been directly contradicted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's calls for increased investment in coal and other fossil fuels since taking office in December 2018.[11][12] In 2020, Mexico ramped up its purchases of coal while imposing new rules discouraging solar and wind projects[13], and the country remains far from complying with its clean energy commitments under the Paris Climate Accord.[9]
The Mexican government acquired 1.5 million tons of coal from small- and medium-sized producers in Coahuila state in 2020-21, and in February 2022 CFE (Mexico's federal electricity commission) announced that it would again make large purchases of domestic coal, sufficient to supply 4% of the country's electricity generation.[14] In June 2022, CFE launched 50 tenders aimed at acquiring 2.27 million tons of coal from Nuevo León and Coahuila states to fuel the José López Portillo and Carbón II power plants.[15]
Coahuila's state government remains committed to the sustained use of domestic coal for electricity generation, calling for coal use to remain "at least" at current levels through 2023[16], and the head of Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission has suggested that Coahuila's coal plants should continue operating permanently.[17] According to the Mexican Geological Survey, Coahuila state produces 99% of Mexico's coal[18], and the director of Mexico's National Coal Producers' Union estimates that the livelihood of tens of thousands of Coahuila state residents depends directly or indirectly on coal production.[2]
Mexico's 2023-2037 National Electricity System development plan did not mention the retirement of the Carbón II power station, although it noted that an estimated 4,317 MW of installed generating capacity would be retired, substituted, or converted by 2037.[19] By the end of 2024, it was unclear if CFE remained committed to retiring Carbón II in 2029. Since the original 2018 PRODESEN document's announcement of the planned retirement, external sources had more recently indicated that the power station could potentially continue to operate through 2033.[20][21]
Coal supply contracts under scrutiny for conflicts of interest
From 2022 to 2023, the CFE came under federal and public scrutiny following the award of coal supply contracts for Carbón II and the José López Portillo power station in 2022. CFE had awarded two coal supply contracts of 571 million pesos each to a company with familial ties to the Morenista mayor's office and the Labor Party.[22] When investigated by Mexico's Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF), CFE denied any conflict of interest.[22]
In March 2024, the CFE announced the winners of coal contract contests for the fiscal years 2024 and 2025, granting 62% of the contracts' value to companies linked to local politicians.[23] The coal supply contracts, which would provide coal to the Carbón II power station and the José López Portillo power station, reportedly represented the largest coal sales in the current six-year term.
Health & environmental impacts
The Carbón II power complex is one of Mexico's worst polluters. The plant ranks second in the country in annual emissions of nitric oxides (49,915 tons), third in carbon dioxide (over 9 million tons), third in nitrous oxide (205 tons), third in methane (136.75 tons), and sixth in sulfur dioxide emissions (over 100,000 tons annually).[2]
A June 2020 article in El Economista notes that air pollution from the coal plants of Coahuila state is a known contributor to lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and acute respiratory illness, with the latter being the state's number one health problem, according to government figures. The Carbón II complex, together with the neighboring José López Portillo power station and the Petacalco power station in Guerrero state, accounts for 22% of the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from Mexico's electricity sector while contributing only 10% of national electricity production.[2]
In May 2023, it was reported that the two coal-fired power stations in Nava, Carbón II and José López Portillo, were together responsible for more than half of all Mexico's coal combustion emissions. [24]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Carbon II Coal Power Station Mexico - GEO". Global Energy Observatory. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Badillo, Diego (June 20, 2020). "Centrales eléctricas de Coahuila y el lado oscuro de la fiesta del carbón". El Economista.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Proposicion con Punto de Acuerdo: contratos de provisión de carbón mineral" (PDF). Santana Armando Guadiana Tijerina, Senador de la República. November 14, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "MICARE". AHMSA. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Orellana, A.; Stephenson, H. G. (1996-12-31). "Operational improvements in MICARE`s underground mines".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ "MANIFESTACIÓN DE IMPACTO AMBIENTAL: MINERA CARBONÍFERA RIO ESCONDIDO, S.A. DE C.V. - EXPLOTACION DE MINA VI" (PDF). SEMARNAT. May 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "PRODESEN: Programa de Desarrollo del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional 2018-2032 (pp 81, 245)" (PDF). SENER (Secretaría de Energía de México). 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Prospectiva del Sector Eléctrico 2018-2032 (p 71)" (PDF). SENER (Secretaría de Energía de México). 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 "México está incumpliendo los compromisos ambientales ante el Acuerdo de París, según expertos". La República. December 28, 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "PPCA Members | Powering Past Coal Alliance". Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ↑ "Energías limpias, sofisma que usó la política neoliberal para beneficiar a particulares: AMLO". Animal Político. October 24, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Alternative energy efforts in Mexico slow as Lopez Obrador prioritizes oil". Los Angeles Times. 2019-07-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "El gobierno de México comprará toneladas de carbón para termoeléctricas". infobae. July 17, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "CFE to Open Tender for Coal Mining Companies". Mexico Business News. February 15, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "México lanza licitaciones para compra de carbón". Rumbo Minero. June 27, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Programa Especial de Energía 2017-2023 (p 36)" (PDF). Gobierno del Estado de Coahuila. September 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "CFE buscará que carboeléctricas trabajen permanentemente: Manuel Bartlett". Energía Hoy. 2019-08-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Panorama Minero del Estado de Coahuila (p 11)" (PDF). Servicio Geológico Mexicano. December 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Programa de Desarrollo del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (PRODESEN), Secretaría de Energia (Mexico), May 2023
- ↑ Perspectives from the coal industry in Mexico, WWF Mexico, October 2021
- ↑ REALIDADES DE LA TRANSICIÓN ENERGÉTICA EN AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2024
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 LA CFE COMPRA CARBÓN POR MÁS DE MIL MILLONES A EMPRESAS VINCULADAS A ALCALDESA DE MORENA Y DIPUTADO DEL PT, Eme Equis, August 28, 2023
- ↑ Empresas de políticos coahuilenses ganan contratos carboneros millonarios, El Coahuilense, March 21, 2024
- ↑ "Lidera Coahuila en contaminación por carboeléctricas; se ponen en peligro miles de vidas". Vanguardia MX. May 14, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
