Reuters reported that Italy, Europe's third biggest coal buyer, is expected to raise imports by 7% in 2011, driven by demand from steel makers.
Mr Andrea Clavarino chairman of Italy's coal operators body Assocarboni said that "2011 has been a good year. We forecast an increase in imports to Italy by about 7%. In steam coal imports, we should be stable at about 17 million tonnes and we should be at about 7 million tonnes in coking coal and PCI (pulverized coal injection), some 27% higher than in 2010."
He said that coal imports are expected to slow down sharply in the last quarter of this year hit by worsening economic situation in Italy and 2012 will be a difficult year.
He said it was difficult to make forecasts for 2012 because of economic uncertainty in Italy where a new government is pushing ahead with austerity measures to stop the unfolding debt crisis but he hoped coal imports in Italy would be stable in 2012.
According to Assocarboni data, Italy's imports of steam coal for power generation rose by 5% to 17.2 million tonnes in 2010 while imports of coking coal and PCI for steel making surged by 37% to 5.5 million tonnes, thanks to the steel industry recovery after crisis.
Mr Clavarino said that future growth of coal imports into Italy is linked to the country's rejection of nuclear energy and to new projects in power generation to use clean coal technology with lower emissions of CO2 and other gases.
Such projects include construction of a new coal fired plant with a 1,320 MW capacity in Saline Joniche in the south of Italy and of a new 460 MW coal fired unit at Vado Ligure power station in the north. They also include a conversion of a major power plant from oil to coal, planned by Italy's biggest utility Enel. Such plant alone would consume about 4.2 million tonnes of coal a year.
Mr Clavarino said that in Europe, coal imports are expected to rise by 3% to 5% in 2011, driven by increased imports into Germany. He added that Italy, which has scarce natural resources, buys abroad almost all coal it needs, with about 80% of all coal imports coming from South Africa and Indonesia.
(Sourced from www.reuters.com)
