Biomass set to replace declining coal tonnage

摘要

Since coal moved by rail peaked at 46-6 million tonnes in 2008-09, the volume has slumped with only 37-9 million tonnes carried in 2009-10. With no coal-fired power stations built since the 1970s and no replacements planned, this commodity - which has been the backbone of freight traffic since the dawn of the railways - is now expected to wither away.rnA presentation to the Rail Freight 2010 conference on July 7 by Sean Ebnet, Director of Mew Business at Drax Group pic, provided convincing evidence that at least some of the lost coal could be replaced by bulk movement of imported biomass for new power stations and existing plants, which could thus see a life-extension.