The
Cost of Coal
Read about coal in Colorado
Coal-fired
power plants produce more than 50% of the electricity in America.
Each new
conventional coal plant threatens to create a 60-year stream of new carbon
dioxide which cannot be easily sequestered, as well as a multi-decade
stream of toxic waste.
(The Clean Air Task Force )
Coal Supplies / Prices
For an excellent resource on coal prices and the industry
in general, see the Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration's
weekly
Coal
Markets.
Coal Plant Costs
Duke to Reconsider Coal Plans (Nov 18, 2006)
More
Cost Overruns for Duke Power Coal Plant (Nov 17, 2006)
More
Electricity Generation and Coal Use in Colorado
82
% of the state's electricity is produced by coal fired power plants,
which released 36,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide(CO2), 132,000 tons of
NOx, and 86,000 tons of SO2 in 1999.
When
coal is burned, it emits 70 percent more carbon dioxide per Btu of energy
produced than natural gas.
In Colorado,
total CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants are approximately 15 times
greater than emissions from natural gas-fired power plants.
Due to Colorado's
reliance on coal, its CO2 emission factor of 1.93 lb/kWh is relatively high
compared to the U.S. average of1.34 lb/kWh.
Electrical
power plants are also major contributors to releases of air toxics in
the state (31 percent of total reported in 2000), particularly for mercury
and dioxin.
Overall,
electric utilities were responsible for 47.5 percent of the CO2 equivalent
emissions in Colorado in 1990. Most of the 1,126,000 MM Btus of fuel
consumed in Colorado in 1999 were used for electricity generation(34
percent) and transportation (32 percent).
Pollution and Environmental Damage
Power plants
are the largest uncontrolled source of mercury by far ‚ responsible
for approximately 30 percent of the country's emissions. Amazingly, power
plants are the only major mercury polluters yet to be regulated under
federal clean air standards. (US
PIRG)
The coal
industry has increased its CO2 output by 20 percent since 1990.
"Women
of childbearing age are discouraged from eating more than two to three
servings a week of shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tile fish, or albacore "white" tuna." Harvard
School of Public Health and a controversial EPA ruling on mercury
underestimates the risks, according to the Harvard Center for Risk
Analysis.
View study. 
(243
pages. 1Mb)
Mercury,
a highly toxic substance that can poison wildlife and cause brain and
nervous system damage in children and fetuses, is a difficult issue
for several reasons. Also, 40 percent or more of the mercury polluting
the US comes from abroad - mainly coal-burning power plants in places
like China.
National
Campaign Against Dirty Power
Information on mercury
Colorado
Department of Health and Environment
Mercury
warnings for fish
Global Warming
American
coal-powered plants pump 2.3 billion tons of CO2 into the air each year
-- twice as much as the amount emitted by cars. (New York Times) See
our global warming page for more. Even the newest,
most efficient conventional coal plant emits three times as much carbon
dioxide as a natural gas plant. (New York Times) Water Issues In the Rocky Mountain
west on the of the key problems with coal burning power plants is the water consumption.
In the case of the Pueblo plant the Pueblo Water Board estimates the plant will
use 7,766,883 gallons per day. For more information on water and coal plant issues
read the report by Western Resource Advocates The
Last Straw.
Abuse of Political Influence
In the 1999-2000
election cycle, the coal mining industry contributed more than $3.6 million
to federal parties and candidates. See the
details
The U.S. has
21.1% of the world's coal supplies. As a result, the mining industry
puts pressure on the US government to continue selling coal, to resist
international regulations on air pollution, and to lag in the transition
to renewable energy technologies.
