Posted on 11/06/2007 10:29:51 AM PST by Abathar
Now that the price of coal is at a historic low relative to oil, there's no stopping consumers and producers alike from embracing Al Gore's nightmare.
A ton of U.S. coal is so cheap at about $47 (U.S.) that European utilities will pay $50 to ship it across the Atlantic, according to Galbraith's Ltd., a 263-year-old London shipbroker. While oil and coal cost the same as recently as 1998, West Texas Intermediate crude is now five times more expensive after climbing to more than $90 a barrel.
Peabody Energy Corp., Consol Energy Inc. and Arch Coal Inc., the three biggest U.S. coal companies, forecast the largest increase in exports in 20 years, degrading the call for a moratorium on coal plants by former U.S. vice-president and this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore. Coal use worldwide has grown 27 per cent since 2002, three times faster than crude, said BP PLC. U.S. East Coast coal has risen 71 per cent, while oil tripled on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Coal is by far the cheapest fuel because there's no price on how much damage it causes," said John Holdren, a Harvard University professor of environmental science and director of the Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Mass. "Unless you get policies to put a price on carbon dioxide and other emissions, no other plants can compete."
U.S. coal prices are equal to $1.98 for each million British thermal units of energy, compared with $12.51 for fuel oil and $6.91 for natural gas, data compiled by Bloomberg show. A million British thermal units is the equivalent of eight U.S. gallons (30.3 litres) of gasoline.
"There is a huge advantage with coal, and this will continue indefinitely," said Gianfilippo Mancini, the head of fuel purchasing for Enel SpA, Italy's largest power company, which is spending €4-billion ($5.8-billion U.S.) to convert oil-fed plants to run on coal.
Mr. Gore, 59, said five months ago the U.S. should adopt a "complete moratorium" on new coal-fed power plants unless all of the carbon dioxide from them can be buried underground. Government efforts to subsidize coal as an alternative to oil would be a "serious mistake," he said in a June 1 interview on Conversations with Judy Woodruff on Bloomberg Television.
U.S. coal exports to Europe for the first nine months of this year were 11.4 million tons, up 15 per cent from the same period in 2006, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Coal generates 41 per cent of the world's man-made carbon dioxide emissions, blamed for the warming of the Earth's climate, Gulf of Mexico hurricanes and rising sea levels.
The increased demand for coal boosted Peabody, Arch and Consol 36 per cent from Aug. 3 to Nov. 2 in New York trading, according to Bloomberg's U.S. coal index. Among Wall Street analysts, 76 per cent recommend buying shares of Peabody and 62 per cent recommend Consol, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
More than 1,000 coal-fed power plants will be built in the next five years, mostly in China and India, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. China, the world's biggest coal producer, became a net importer for the first time this year, taking supplies from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa and reducing the amount available for Europe.
"If those 1,000 plants get built without any controls on carbon emissions, we will careen into unmanageable changes in our climate," the 63-year-old Prof. Holdren said in an interview. "We need to motivate carbon capture and storage through policy. We will still be using coal, but in much smarter ways. It doesn't have to be an economy buster."
ping
Pretty much. Pennsylvania anthracite reserves alone are supposed to last for 200 years at present rates of consumption.
Isn’t it fun when real world economics turns the table on these blowhards that haven’t a clue what is really going on? If they were really worried about CO2 why don’t the recomend how to exterminate every living creature that exhales CO2?
Monster Machine Picks up Bulldozer
http://nahetsblog.wordpress.com/2007/07/19/the-heaviest-of-heavy-machinery/
I live in coal country. Big black anthracite hills all around. Most folks here burn coal. Typical expense is $300 for the whole winter. Fuel oil, probably around $2000.
Thank YOU!!!!
Your memory is right on! To bad it’s “old news” and will never be reported on ever again!
thread marker
By the way, here in central PA, most of the coal companies I see (and that’s a LOT of them) are not up and running, or if they are, they’re doing so little you can hardly tell they’re working at all. Govt regulation has killed business.
No wonder Clinton came in third behind Perot in that election.
Just think, if it weren’t for all the tree hugging hippies, and wet-pants nancy-boys, we’d have more nuclear power, and refineries. The price of energy would be down where it should be. Don’t forget the nimby folk who have stopped wind farms for power generation.
Ruefully
We had a coal furnace when I was a kid, and Yes, the hot water was part of the deal. A coil and water storage tank was near the furnace. Convection circulated the water through the tank. There was even a crude thermostat arrangement that switched a damper control, called an "Iron Fireman" that had a hokey lable of a 50's era robot witha shovel. Coal ads on early TV were similar to current gasoline ads, without extravagant claims.
"When you see coal with red dots bright, that's famous Reading anthracite"...a competitor to Blue Coal, another brand.
The coal truck would come once in a while, a chute would be placed in the cellar window, and a ton would slide into the coalbin.
I do not recall that it was that much work, but if people went to bed early, mornings could be a bit cool till someone went downstairs and shovelled.
All in all it was not bad.
“Gore’s nightmare: Europe turns to U.S. coal “
Well, I hope plenty of Democratic voters are confused and stay home
when they see that Gore and HILLARY! disagree on this topic.
Export that coal and we’ll be the Saudi of coal.
Looks like people better stop shorting the dollar.
Carolyn
Not sure about the end of time. Several states, independently, do have more coal than the Saudis have oil. Our big solution is government subsidized ethanol, which I don’t believe is viable for a number of reasons. Ethanol will likely only serve to give us higher inflation as products effected by corn prices start to climb. Many products have already started a steady climb and there are more to come.
Higher inflation means a higher probability of President PantSuit. Does anyone remember ManBearPigs, “everything that should be down is up, and everything that should be up is down”, speech? It will be the “economy stupid” all over again, a different Clinton, one more time with feeling. We need to go diesel from coal and rid ourselves of the oil ticks once and for all.
The new technology for cleaner coal is there and is being used in many instances. The global warming cabal can pound sand. We need to be energy independent and diesel from coal can do that. This will not only be a big positive for the economy but also for our national security and perhaps that of the world. Instead of sending our resources to other nations, dirt cheap, we need to be using our resources to free us from foreign oil. In the interim, the alternative energy resources, hydrogen, solar, nuclear etc. can be worked out.
I was thinking, if America was energy independent, it would go a long way in solving a great deal of our problems. We have an answer. All we need now is for the courage and leadership to stand up against the anthropogenic global warming hoax. A diesel from coal facility is due to go online in my state in the near future, owned by Peabody, I believe, who was mentioned in the article.
um.. but... um... if they dig up OUR carbon, but burn it over there, is that our credit or theirs?
Now wait just a minute. I ONLY exhale 2.2 lbs of CO2 per day, multiply that by the billions of people and it clear at least 1/2 half need to be killed immediately. As long as I am not in that half, I am down with it. Does the Hildabeast, Saint Al, Breck Boy, or any other moonbat DIMWIT think for a moment that China or India will stop building coal plants? They will be laughing as our economy goes into the tank as their competitive advantage in labor costs gets extended to energy costs as well. These idiots think we live in a world apart from everyone else. Will the Saudi’s pump less oil? Will Venezuela pump less oil. The market will decide, not politicians.
*Squeeeeeeeeal*
The Working Class, (Whoever they are, and whatever "Work" may be) may not have to PAY ENOUGH for energy!!!
...While *I*, at Harvard, will resume coasting though my life and career, a protected, anointed species.
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