Best Available Techniques (BAT) and Coal-fired Power Stations: Can the Energy Gap be Plugged Without Increasing Emissions?

At present, there is much anxiety regarding the security ofenergy supplies; for example, the UK and other European Statesare set to become increasingly dependant upon imports of naturalgas from states with which political relations are often strained.These uncertainties are felt acutely by the electricity generatingsector, which is facing major challenges regarding the choiceof fuel mix in the years ahead. Nuclear energy may provide analternative; however, in the UK, progress in replacing the firstgeneration reactors is exceedingly slow. A number of operatorsare looking to coal as a means of plugging the energy gap. However,in the light of ever more stringent legal controls on emissions,this step cannot be taken without the adoption of sophisticatedpollution abatement technology. This article examines the rolewhich legal concepts such as Best Available Techniques (BAT)must play in bringing about these changes.