TRENDS AND PROSPECTS FOR USING ENERGY COALS OF EASTERN SIBERIA

Abstract

The relevance of the research is caused by the need to study the reserves of thermal coal in Eastern Siberia to identify predictive criteria for their use. The main aim of the research is to assess the available resources of thermal coals in the region while allocating resources of low-quality and local coals and the prospects and restrictions for their use for energy needs. Objects: coal deposits, balance reserves, local coals, supply trends and prospects for the use of coals from Eastern Siberia, projects for the construction of energy facilities on coal. Methods: methods of system analysis: classification, structuring and restructuring, analysis, formalization and concretization. Results. The place of coals of Eastern Siberia in the structure of fuel consumption in Russia is shown. An assessment of the resources of low-quality and local coals and the possibilities of their use for energy needs has been made. Analysis of trends in the consumption of thermal coal in Eastern Siberia showed a slight increase in supplies to power plants with relatively stable supplies to other consumers. At the same time, about 30 % of the total volume of supplies to power plants is supplied outside Eastern Siberia. The potential level of coal resources available in the future for the needs of the energy sector was calculated. It is about 400 million tons/year. The demand for resources for the energy sector, both at present and in the future, is significantly lower than the mining opportunities. In the future, the most demanded direction for the use of coal will remain energy, mainly thermal power plants. The region of Eastern Siberia belongs to infrastructure-rarefied systems, and when analyzing the balance reserves of steam coal, a category of local ones was identified. Their feature is their remoteness from settlements and transport communications. The assessment of the prospects for the involvement of local coals in the economic turnover was carried out. The use of local and low-grade coals is only possible in boiler houses and small thermal power plants, where competition with other types of fuel, including imported coal, is minimal. According to the authors' calculations, the possible supply corridor for East Siberian coal is determined by the variant of economic development. The lower limit, compared to the level of 2019, corresponds to a slight increase in supplies, and the upper one – more than twofold, only due to the commissioning of thermal power plants for the export of electricity. Estimated volumes of coal consumption by export CHPPs can range from 35 to 50 million tons. The region's thermal coal production potential significantly exceeds the demand for the upper limit of the possible supply corridor. The results of the analysis of the thermal coal resources of Eastern Siberia show their reliability in the long term as a source of fuel for thermal power plants and for the needs of coal chemistry.

Keywords

• power-generating coal
• balance reserves
• eastern siberia
• consumption
• production
• development of coal mining
• projects
• reserves-to-production ratio
• tendencies