Coal-fired electricity, environmental regulation, and domestic coal markets
- Geological Survey, Reston, VA (United States)
During the next decade it appears that utilities will have to effectively separate their power generation business from other regulated functions. Tighter restrictions of sulfur emissions will take effect in 2000 but, as of 1996 only 30 percent of US coal-fired electrical generating capacity had flue-gas scrubbers. New emission standards would likely accelerate the shift to low sulfur coal as the competitive pressures of power markets will restrict capital for investment. If power plants do not retrofit with scrubbers, then based on 1995 coal transactions data for Northern Appalachia, Central Appalachia, and the Illinois Basin, there is the equivalent of 216 million tons of annual shipments from these areas that will have to be replaced by low sulfur coal or be covered by emission permits. In the aggregate only 23 percent of the coal shipped in 1995 from these areas was shipped to power plants equipped with flue-gas scrubber systems. The purpose of this paper is to show the extent of the geographical shift in future coal production that could occur as the regulations are enforced. The paper initially discusses the deregulation of the electrical utility industry and the provisions of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Current composition and historical changes of markets for the four major coal-producing regions--Northern Appalachian, Central Appalachian, Illinois Basin, and Power River Basin--are examined. Data on sulfur content of the coal received at power plants from each of the four major coal-producing regions are presented and used to infer the quality of coal likely to be produced in the immediate future. For each market, volumes of coal used by power plants having flue-gas scrubbers are estimated. Based on these estimates and available low sulfur supplies in each market, the volumes of produced coal are calculated that will not meet the new Clean Air Act standards and will likely not be used in scrubber equipped power.
- OSTI ID:
- 349232
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-980985--; ISBN 1-890977-15-2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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