Coal comes clean [thermal power stations]

Coal-fired power stations provide some 40% of the world´s electricity, making coal the prime fossil fuel for power generation. In 1989, world coal-fired capacity for electricity generation was over 800 GW, equivalent to an annual consumption of 1950 Mt. Here, however, the author details how coal´s status as the dominant fuel for electricity generation is under threat, and describes, how, the coal industry is responding with a range of cleaner and more efficient combustion technologies