Coal price soars, electric rates close behind

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While worry and hand-wringing has centered around higher food and gasoline prices, coal prices have shot skyward even faster with much less fanfare. And that increase promises to drive electricity costs much higher too.

The spot price for northern Appalachian coal -- which includes coal mined in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia -- was $138 a ton last week, more than double the $55-a-ton price of a year ago and four times what it was in 2000.

Spurred by a tight coal market made tighter by a series of extreme weather events earlier this year in China, Australia and South Africa, the spike in coal prices could add another 30 percent to electric rates that were already projected to increase more than 50 percent when rate caps for most power customers in the state expire in January 2011, said Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner Tyrone Christy.

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Coal prices have been rising since 2000, driven primarily by increasing demand from expanding industrial economies in China and India. China, the world's biggest producer and user of coal, has gone from an exporter to an importer of coal. It stopped exports in February and March after the biggest snowstorm to hit the country in 50 years disrupted production and distribution, caused dozens of power plants to close and created electricity shortages.





Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08209/899839-85.stm

[sam sarrha]

1. PUT EM OUT OF BUISNESS.. WITH THESE...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dwsgqrNflE&NR=1

[The Croquist]

6. Sorry / Not Practical

Solar power just doesn't cut it. I know it would be great if it did but the bottom line is that they are still allot more expensive.

The US doesn't have a monopoly on Solar power technology. As another poster mentioned, China is building 2 - 3 coal plants a week. If Solar is cheaper why don't they build them?

[bahrbearian]

7. So why has Spain already built one and Abu Dubai starting too.

http://www.smartplanet.com/news/tech/10000899/solar-power-towers-coming-to-spain-abu-dhabi.htm

the old fossil fuel mantra, "coal is cheaper" doesn't hold up any more

[The Croquist]

8. I'm guessing government subsidies

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/solar-subsidies-may-be-reduced-in-spain.php

Reuters is reporting that the Spanish government is consider reducing the subsidy cap to 300 MW, less than one-third of current levels. As solar developers had been expecting a continuation of subsidy caps of 1000 MW, profit margins will be reduced and the growth of Spain’s solar industry could slow.Apparently seeing the writing on the wall, ASIF (the Spanish solar industry association) has called for a cap of 480 MW next year.

Abu Dhabi maybe a different matter. It's allot sunnier in a desert then in most places and being on the Tropic of Cancer helps too.

[theophilus]

10. It is imminently practical, it is just not desirable to low information

humans. I guess survival of billions is "not practical" either. Either we get behind these efforts or start looking forward to our Soylent Green rations. What is wrong with many Americans? There is no vision there are no guts left for many. How do we face a challenge? For many it is to whine and settle for less of a future. Disgusting.

We are at a convergence. Oil has peaked. Our jobs are leaving. Climate is turning deadly. The one stone that can kill all these "birds" is to fight like hell to get off of fossil fuels in the shortest amount of time possible. We are fools not to make whatever sacrifice is necessary. My opinion.

And yes, other governments subsidize technology that will help their people. We have in the past and we need to now, big time. No more illegal and immoral wars, please. Other nations are doing it. Why are we bowing to the morons?

[sam sarrha]

12. alternate energy in particular.. here is another >>LINK>> there are options.. these are just the

just the first in a developing industry


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfUeWaEiKX4&feature=related

[sam sarrha]

13. ..dupe

[roody]

16. I am savoring my electric bill---negative $62.

Must be my impractical solar array. It cost less than half of what my car cost. When a local contractor installed it, I provided local jobs and revenue.

[The Croquist]

18. How much is "less than half of what my car cost"?

How long will it take before you get your money back?

[roody]

20. Less than 10,000 dollars.

I will never get my money back. I spent it.

[Kolesar]

22. Do you "time shift" your electrical loads?

Run your washing machine when you are supplying your own power? Turn off the TV after dark??

[roody]

23. No. My city, the electrical supplier, does not have time-of-use

rates. PGE does. I use an average of 6 or 7 watts per day. When the sun shines a lot the surplus goes to the grid and I get a negative balance. I have all electronics on power strips that are turned off when not in use. I do dry my clothes with electricity; they are softer and it is way less work.

[Kolesar]

21. Because Chinese industrial leaders don't give a sh*t about health and the environment...eom

[NickB79]

2. China is opening new coal-fired plants WEEKLY

2-3 new electric plants burning coal every week is not only playing hell with the air quality, water quality and CO2 concentrations, but also is gobbling up world supplies of coal.

[pattmarty]

3. Does anyone here know if there is speculation in coal in the market???

We're all hearing China & India about everyfuckingthing (food, oil, now coal). I think we all know that China & India are growing and using more resources, but just like the food and oil, I believe there's more to this.

[sam sarrha]

14. YEA ..just heard on NPR that they are creating a speculation bubble on COAL, so expect your electric

bill to go way up

[sam sarrha]

15. i believe these industries are creating these bubbles to acquire the money to build solar and wind

systems so they build alternate systems first and can keep the price of cheap alternate energy at present levels..

these industries should be nationalized as a matter of national security..

[pattmarty]

17. They are "creating these bubbles" as you say to fucking.........

...stuff their coffers and to enrich their CEO's and upper managers, thats why.

[Phred42]

4. There will be a desperate attempt to grab as much as they can

Before the a Democratic President and Congress corral them

Expect this ot get worse in all sectors from now until Next Spring. Batten down the hatches

[happyslug]

5. Map of Pa Coal

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map11.pdf

Western Pa has been an major EXPORTER of coal since at least the 1890s (The old C&O railroad, now the Great Allegheny Passage rails to trail trail, was built to haul Western PA coal to the east coast for shipments overseas).

Western Pa coal is "Soft Coal" of the bituminous variety. Its main use is steel production. Bituminous coal has higher energy content then coal mined in the West, but has more sulfur (Through tend to absorb Mercury when burned as opposed to Western Legate Coal that tend to release Mercury as it is burned).


http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1996/of96-092/map.htm


A previous posting with sites to look up Mercury release and coal production (the overall topic was vaccines and Autism, but I made a reference to Mercury, autism and coal):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3160332&mesg_id=3160662

Basically Western PA has been importing ligate coal from the west for electrical generation (do to the much lower sulfur content so that sulfur "scrubbers" are not needed) while exporting the locally produced bituminous coal for overseas steel production (The Pittsburgh Seam of coal that started in what is now the Mt Washington section of Pittsburgh is considered the richest coal seam in the world, it is presently being mined in Southern Washington County, the county just south of Pittsburgh and has been in production since the 1790s).

Comments on Coal production that the Post-Gazette did not mention.

[Pachamama]

9. How convenient...the US has the largest coal supplies in the world...

Time to drive up the prices and to start "extracting the profits" there now that Oil has run its course and the emphasis is "getting off of our FOREIGN oil dependence".... :eyes:

The Germans of course ran their war machine on fuel extracted from Coal until they got the Romanian oil fields....guess now its time for the US war machine to start using up our coal....and for the coal mine owners to profit handsomely.....

[indepat]

11. The fourfold spike in coal prices since junior took office is solely a supply & demand

issue. :P

[blue neen]

19. The coal trucks that run by my house here in western PA were running double time this week.

This area was already mined years ago, and now they are stripping it.

5:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. every day last week, they ran and ran and ran. I'll expect the same this week after seeing this story. :(