Posted on 11/02/2015 7:17:23 AM PST by thackney
The last shipment of coal to a soon-to-be shuttered Consumers Energy Plant in Muskegon is scheduled to arrive Nov. 8.
For more than 25 years, 1,000-foot ships have been regularly rolling into the Port of Muskegon with coal for Consumers' B.C. Cobb energy plant. The last such ship to deliver coal to Consumers in Muskegon will be the James R. Barker, a spokesman wrote in an email.
"The Barker is scheduled to be loaded with 58,000 tons of coal in Superior, Wisconsin, on Nov. 5," wrote Consumers spokesman Roger Morgenstern. "After the ship is loaded and underway, we will have a better idea of its arrival time."
The James R. Barker is part of the Interlake Ship Company fleet, according to a company website. It was the first 1,000-foot class vessel constructed entirely on the Great Lakes, being built in Lorain, Ohio, in 1976 by the American Ship Building Company. It is named for the President and Chairman of the Board for Interlake.
The B.C. Cobb plant in Muskegon is set to cease operations by April 2016, officials have said, and go "cold and dark" by June. An electrical switch station will be separated from the power plant, but remain on the site. The rest of the power plant could be demolished by the end of 2018.
I hate Owe-bama.
Another "Mission Accomplished" moment by the muslim bastard in his war on coal, and America?
Because America doesn’t need electricity for heat any more. Global warming will keep the folks warm and on the Great Lakes beaches all winter long.
I like how Canada looks like an ocean on that map.
And, the “Trump in Decline” decree continues. Uncle ben is NOT the guy.
Nothing wrong with this if the electricial generation output will be replaced by a natural gas plant.
I’m increaingly ok with leaving the coal in the ground in favor of natural gas. It’s still where for when we need it, and if tshtf it’s easier to extract, transport and apply to a variety of uses.
THe winter beore last, NOAA called for a warmer than normal winter.
According to weatherman/climatologist Joe Bastardi , that winter we were one power plant away from electrical collapse.
This brazen shut-down by the EPA is ill-advised , especially since they wont release any data or information to Congress on why these plants should be shut down.
The EPA through regulation has become less and less as an asset, and has become a liability to national safety and commercial developement.
Good job Obama. Ship owners, sailors, miners, power plant employees, people who supply a thousand parts and services for the ships, mines, and plant,,,, all thrown out of work.
Obama, you self righteous cynical Ahole.
2) Re-opening a closed coal mine is not easy. Shut down the power plants == shut down the mines.
To further complicate things, Consumers energy all for screwing their “customers” and sucking up to the green energy bucks.
During the blackouts that hit a couple years ago northern Michigan was unaffected. I dont think it will be the same next time.
Between Odumby, EPA, and two penny jenny more than just this plant have or will be shut down. Criminals all of them.
The War On America is the primary focus; the War On Coal is just one of the many attack points. The POS told us it was coming, and he still got elected/re-elected.
That’s OK for strip mining, but the old shaft mines won’t be easy to re-use if they aren’t maintained.
As for this one - nothing about replacing it with a gas unit - sounds like it will be completely demolished. They had already converted 3 of the 5 units to natural gas, but then shut them down.
“Units 4 and 5 burn coal and began operating in 1956 and 1957, respectively. Each can produce up to 160 megawatts. Units 1, 2 and 3 were first commissioned to burn coal in 1948 and 1950. They were retired in 1990 and then repowered to burn natural gas a few years later. Currently, the three 60 megawatt units are in layup currently until economic conditions warrant their utilization, which depends on the fluctuating price of natural gas” https://www.consumersenergy.com/content.aspx?id=1334
Just to clarify, I’m not proposing complete abandonment of the coal industry, and do recognize the need to maintain skills and infrastructure for extraction.
But I’d rather first use up the stuff that will be harder to obtain and use in the event of a major calamity. Particularly if it happens to be close in cost and price.
Coal can be extracted using fairly rudimentary tools. It can be transported using non-specialized vehicles. It requires no special processing prior to use and can be used in lots of different and simplistic ways.
What is the planned replacement? Let me guess, there ain’t none! I mean, wind and solar....
“Under my plans, the cost of energy will necessarily skyrocket.” Senator Obama
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