Coal transportation in the south

Technical Report · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:5408278

Sims, R G; Van Arsdall, W V

After decades of decline, coal is beginning to re-emerge as a leading energy source. At the end of World War II, coal supplied half of the nation's energy consumption. By 1972, the year before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil boycott, coal's share had droped to just over 17 percent. That historic boycott by the oil exporters brought public attention to the precariousness of the supply of fuels the nation had come increasingly to rely on for its energy. The fear of shortage and the startling jump in prices of other fuels brought life back into what had previously been a dying industry. In 1980 coal's share of the total US consumption of energy had risen to over 20 percent. It has become national policy and the goal of many in the world community for coal to become the primary fuel to carry the transition into a time when truly renewable energy sources should be available. This report is intended as an aid to understading the role of the coal transportation system, particularly as it relates to the southern region of the United States. To accomplish this task the report looks first at the locational characteristics of coal as a commodity: where it comes from, where it goes (by type of user and geographic area), and how it moves. The major legal, social and environmental aspects of the various methods of coal transportation are then reviewed. Finally, to provide the basi' for speculation about future coal-related transportation developments in the South, some recent major coal policies and trends are analyzed. The implications that these policies and trends are likely to have on the coal transportation system in the southern region then considered.

• Research Organization: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, Frankfort (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5408278
• Report Number(s): NP-2902041; ON: DE82902041
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
013000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290700 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Transport & Storage
294001 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Coal
BARGES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
COAL INDUSTRY
COAL PRODUCING DISTRICTS
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FEDERAL REGION IV
FOSSIL FUELS
FREIGHT PIPELINES
FUEL CONSUMPTION
FUELS
INDUSTRY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LAND TRANSPORT
LEGAL ASPECTS
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
PIPELINES
RAIL TRANSPORT
SLURRY PIPELINES
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
TRANSPORT
TRANSPORTATION SECTOR
TRUCKS
USA
VEHICLES