Potential for increased use of anthracite by electric utilities: implications of the exemption from the EPA new source performance standards for power plants

Technical Report · Mon Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:5417311

The prospect for expanded utility use of anthracite by the year 2000 appears promising. It has been generally considered that anthracite can meet the ambient SO/sub 2/ standard of 1.2 lbs. SO/sub 2/ per million Btu without the use of scrubbers. In that event, the results of the engineering economic analysis show that an anthracite-based electric generating unit can be competitive with a comparable bituminous coal-fired unit. The logical competitive utility market area for anthracite is the Northeastern United States and the Middle Atlantic States because of the proximity of these areas to the anthracite region. Transport costs would be lower for anthracite (versus western Pennsylvania bituminous coal) to destinations in the areas of states immediately north, east and southeast of the eastern Pennsylvania anthracite region - upstate New York, New Jersey and Delaware, in particular. The analyses of the impact of the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) exemption, and of future base load plant expansions, indicates that the potential additional utility use of anthracite over the next two decades is within a range of 1.5 to 15 million tons per year. One means of enhancing the competitive posture of anthracite versus bituminous, the analysis concludes, could be a more intense examination of anthracite resources to determine the best locations of large quantities of low sulfur recoverable reserves. Similarly, a more detailed investigation of a stockpile program would be warranted to determine its feasibility as a means of providing reserve potential, primarily during initial expansion, to allay supply reliability concerns.

• Research Organization: Berger Associates, Harrisburg, PA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC01-79RA20005
• OSTI ID: 5417311
• Report Number(s): DOE/FE-0018; ON: DE82008771
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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