to the atmosphere or to switch to a fuel that would emit less. It was this element of the restriction that affected the types of coals on the market because it gave the low-sulfur coals a distinct cost advantage. Fuel switching was generally the most cost-effective compliance strategy for most plants. Many plants in the east switched from high-sulfur northern Appalachian or Illinois Basin coals to lower-sulfur coal mined in the Powder River and Uintah basins. In 2011 the EPA released a new set
equipment known as “scrubbers” that extract the SO2
gas before it is emitted
of rules designed to further clean up emissions, specifically mercury, acid gas, and non-mercury metallic toxic pollutant emissions from coal and oil-fired power plants. The Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS) rule went into effect on April 16, 2015, and requires plants to monitor or stack test for mercury, hydrochloric acid (HCl), and particulate matter. Unlike the cap and trade approach
of the Acid Rain Program, the MATS rule is based on emission rates for each parameter measured and, where necessary, back-end controls installed to meet the new emission rates. In preparation for the MATS rule taking effect, some plants installed scrubbers and switched back to higher-sulfur northern Appalachian and Illinois Basin coals as the scrubber also controlled HCl emissions. The MATS rule has caused the retirement of a number of older coal- fired power plants in 2015. On August 3, 2015, the EPA released
the Clean Power Plan, which is another regulation aimed more at each individual state developing strategies to cut overall carbon emissions rather than controlling individual plants. Several key stakeholders and states have
Northern Lignite
already brought legal challenges to the rule, which will be argued in court.
Natural Gas Replaces Coal for Electricity Generation
In 2002 the U.S. Geological Survey calculated that the Marcellus black shale formation contained about 1.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The Marcellus shale covers about 95,000 square miles in the Appalachian Basin and is named for a distinctive outcropping in New York state near its namesake town. Over the years, gas wells had been drilled into the formation but decreased in sustainable production over time. In 2003 Range Resources drilled a well in southwestern Pennsylvania that used horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking), using a technique that proved successful in the Barnett Shale region of Texas. This set off a flurry of activity as new drilling operations sprang up throughout the region. In 2008 Penn State geoscience professor Terry Englander and SUNY Fredonia geologist Gary Lash predicted that the Marcellus formation could contain more than 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and the key to unleashing this resource was by employing horizontal drilling and hydrofracking techniques. Also, the western edge of the formation near the Pennsylvania- Ohio border and west yields natural gas liquids and small amounts of refinable oil. By early 2015 the Marcellus shale formation was producing 14.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. In 2007 the Marcellus shale supplied
about 2 percent of domestic natural gas production and grew to slightly less than 20 percent by the end of 2013. Prices have dropped from $9.26/1,000 cu. ft. in 2008 to less than $2.00/1,000 cu. ft. at the
end of October. Duke Power spokesman Thomas Williams told the Washington Post recently that “Thirty percent of our coal plants’ cost is in transportation. It’s rail to bring coal from the mines to the plants. With gas at two and a half bucks or two bucks, incredibly low, it’s way in the money compared to coal.” In July the central Appalachian coal wholesale price was $2.31/MMBtu versus $2.06/MMBtu for natural gas.
What Does the Future Hold?
While tightening environmental regulations and low natural gas prices have caused utilities to close older power plants, coal will continue to be in the fuel mix for the foreseeable future. Analysts believe that coal-fired plant retirements will peak in 2015. The recent cold winter weather during “polar vortexes” has demonstrated that coal still has a place in the energy mix, as natural gas was shifted for home heating and curtailed for power generation in some regions. As coal demand has expanded or contracted over the years the railroads have adjusted their respective networks accordingly. We are currently witnessing a dramatic shift trackside while the eastern railroads deal with excess capacity from a decrease in central Appalachian coal shipments. Yet other domestic producers are ramping up production, which means coal trains won’t completely disappear.
Pat Yough is an environmental manager focused on air quality emissions issues, and is co-author with Brian Solomon of Coal Trains: The History of Railroading and Coal in the United States.
Marcellus Shale Powder River Basin Anthracite Unitah Basin Illinois Basin Northern Appalachian Four Corners Central Appalachian
Southern Appalachian Gulf Lignite
Illustration by Otto M. Vondrak. Not all formations shown. Not an offi cial map. ©2016 White River Productions
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