NAT(IONAL) KING COLE
Posted on 02/07/2024 6:01:04 AM PST by woodbutcher1963
US thermal coal exporters recorded more than $5 billion in overseas sales in 2023, shipping upwards of 32.5 million metric tons of the high-polluting power fuel, according to Reuters, citing data from ship-tracking firm Kpler. These coal export earnings were the second highest since 2017, trailing only behind 2022's $5.7 billion. This comes as US utility coal usage for electricity generation tumbles to the lowest in this century. Reuters points out diverging trends between sliding domestic coal use at power plants and a surge in coal exports. They called this "hypocrisy, given the country's ambitions to become a global leader in energy transition and pollution reduction efforts." In 2023, India was the largest destination for US coal shipments, with 11.8 million tons delivered, accounting for 36.3% of total US thermal exports. Kpler data showed that volume was up 130% from 2022, and the south Asian nation is the world's largest coal producer and consumer after China. "India is expected to remain a keen buyer of international coal as the country's domestic reserves are being depleted and power firms rely on coal for about 75% of India's electricity," Reuters said. This comes as major US companies, such as Apple, have been shifting manufacturing supply chains from China to India - a move called 'friendshoring'. — ZeroHedge Our Take: “You know ... sometimes, it seems like there are patriot ghosts in the media machine, who watch the theories this community pass around, waiting for the opportunity to inject not-so-subtle confirmations into the War of Stories in order to encourage us. And if that seems like wishful thinking, we're not the only ones engaging in it; in fact, amidst the overwhelmingly negative news cycle that has persisted for the entirety of the Biden Admin, I maintain that some of the most promising (long term) economic and domestic trends we've seen in ages have been continued under this Admin, and have even accelerated, which is one of the biggest directional Devolution proofs we have. Today, as the Bank of America backs off of its former ESG commitments and commits instead to backing the development of new domestic coal production projects, compiled shipments data demonstrates that US exporting (and thus, production) of 'archaic fossil fuels' is only increasing of late. Winning is everywhere.” — Burning Bright
This is an article off of Badlands media blog.
I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RELATION to this blog.
I am NOT pimping my own blog.
Even IF hummblegunner was still here.
I just thought his was interesting to read.
One one topic — I believe that biowarfare research is frowned upon in the US. So Fauci exported that to China and paid them to develop COVID.
On another topic — The US is really worried about global warming. So we try not to burn too much coal, even though we have technology that burns it quite cleanly. But it’s fine to export coal to India which burns that stuff in ways that pump massive pollution into the air.
Make no mistake. The huge cargo ships have changed the world. Who’d believe that shipping coal halfway around the world would make economic sense?
The cost per ton mil must be extremely low. It’s why China can make stuff, pay the shipping costs, and sell it competitively over here.
I looked into buying a small front end loader from Alibaba. There’s a 40% tariff on that particular type of import.
But still, China can make and ship it for less than it can be made in America.
I just watched a YouTube video this morning about how small companies shipping items from China on the site TEMU come over with no tariffs and reduced shipping.
These are not front end loaders or an excavator.
What the YouTuber was showing were gadgets/tools mostly for woodworking. Things that someone developed in the US or Europe then PATENTED. Then a company in China copies it almost exactly and sells it for half the price.
The other main factor is the US Postal Service gives a better shipping rate from China because it is considered a developing country. So, its cheaper to air freight it from Shanghai to Peoria than it is over the road from Cleveland to Peoria. This is also why there are so many PARTS being sold on EBAY shipping directly from China.
The other thing about shipping is that a train of coal from WY directly to Tacoma is the main business that the UP and BNSF railroads really want.
The railroad picks up a full trainload of hopper cars at the coal mine in Wyoming. Then that train of cars never stops until it gets to the port of Tacoma. Except to change crews.
This is the type of business that the railroads prefer. Especially, in comparison to the lumber business that I am in.
Where they have to pick up two or three cars here. Another five or six there. Then consolidate them to make a full train. Its like making the milk run.
It is much more efficient use of equipment and crews to pick up an entire train at one location and not stop until it is delivered to its final destination. That is why the railroads love oil, coal and other bulk commodities.
“Who’d believe that shipping coal halfway around the world would make economic sense?”
I’m still amazed that money is made on shipping all that cargo.
North America has more joules of recoverable energy(coal, oil, Uranimum,Thorium, et al) in the ground and off our shores than most all the entire world combined.
Above ground, our tree count is greater than any time in recorded history.
Our Democrats seem to be suicidal about these facts.
We can’t mine, drill, or harvest what we own because of some big city dipstick who worships their version of the Earth.
Let them eat cake.
I remember when we going to transition most of our electric to natural gas because it was cleaner than coal.
Then NG became dirty too because it was CO2.
To get close but not equal the emissions of a natural gas turbine plant a coal fired boiler plant would need hundreds of millions in scrubbers. The coal plant would still emit measurable amounts of mercury and other heavy metals these are in vapor form and not 100% scrubable. Then you have that giant toxic ash pile that has to be entombed forever since it is chemically toxic there is no Half-Life.
You can go the coal gasification route with oxygen fired gasfiers this makes the syngas dense enough to run full analytical grade gas clean up on down to the ppm range of mercury and other heavy metals. Mitsubishi is the world leaders in this tech. You still have coal ash to deal with but the oxygas process puts out molten ash that’s quenched into dense low leach granules perfect for concrete aggregates. Added bonus is the gas fires a turbine no boilers needed unless you want to go combined cycle and get another 20% off the gas turbine exhaust heat. Problem is in North America if you are going combined cycle already just feed it clean natural gas and don’t spend the 100 million on the front end oxygen fired gasifier. it only makes sense where you have gas poor and have access to very cheap coals,since LNG transport via ship is cheap now as well. Japan has access to cheap Australian coal directly to its coastline cheaper than Qatar LNG on a btu to but basis hence Mitsubishi being the world leaders in coal gas tech.
As long as North American natural gas is under about $10 mmbtu there is no economical viability for coal to gas turbines and with the EPA rightfully saying all power plants have to meet gas turbine cleanliness when it comes to nox,sox,particulates,and especially heavy metals that persist in the water cycle for hundreds of years. The days of burning coal to the open air are in the dustbin of history. You are right there is tech to make coal nearly but not as clean as gas but it is so expensive no investor would do it here. The other choice is to gasify the coal underground and then do gas clean up to analytical grade clean. Added bonus is the ash stays right where it was originally except for a small amount carried up the wellbore. Plus you have access to six to eight times the reserves with UCG too deep or too thin to mine now become accessible. You need NG prices in the 6 to 8 range to even think about UCG ten bucks or higher is really where it comes into play at $15 you can make synthetic methane from the syngas turn it to CNG and ship it to point of use it’s a two to one CO2 to methane ratio at best for synthetic CH4 from coal so the greens will have a heart attack.
“I remember when we going to transition most of our electric to natural gas because it was cleaner than coal.”
We did transition to NG and still are exactly because it so much cleaner than coal without triple layer scrubbers and even then coal is and never can be as clean as gas. Not burning it in open air in a boiler it’s not possible by physics. nitrogen will always for NOx,and the sulfur will always for SOx at coal fire temps that’s just physics. Plus coal has a slew of heavy metals a number of which form vapors at coal fire temps and the process to remove them cannot function in the dilute gas stream of the stack exhaust this is again a physics issue. So no coal burnt conventionally in a firebox in an air environment can never be as clean as gas turbines. The only way to get coal to nearly as in a few ppm range of gas turbines is to use gas turbines fueled with deeply cleaned coal generated syngas .here again air fired gasifiers can never get to the clean levels of natural gas, only oxygen or hydrogen/steam gasifiers can you must exclude nitrogen only then do you have dense syngas that can be put through membranes,ION exchange medium and active carbon blocks to remove down to the ppm range of mercury and other heavy metals. Same could be said for steam or.hydrogen fired UCG retorts you must exclude N2 gas at all costs. Argon doesn’t help either but it’s only a few percentage of air.
Climate commies are attacking NG because they see a window for Marxism via energy control they don’t care about how clean gas burns at all they have a power agenda don’t confuse the two.
China is already Communist that’s why they get a pass. India is just cover for China the climate commies know a nuclear war would happen if China was allowed to industrialized and they went after India and didn’t let them also rise to first world energy consumption levels.
A few years ago I met a guy who was a VP of Eversource. The largest electric utility in New England. He had been with PSNH (Public Service of NH) prior to that. So, he had twenty plus years of experience in electric generation and distribution.
New England in general does not have nearly as much Natural gas pipeline capacity as it needs. In fact, in NH there is one pipeline coming down though Maine from Canada. There is another that comes up from MA. This is why there was a proposed pipeline from PA, through NY, MA, into NH and back into MA. The ROW in NH already had a 1’ diameter gas line. The proposed line would have been 3’ in dia. However, it was defeated.
So, because Eversource wants to use NG to generate electricity and there is not enough coming in via pipeline the only alternative is to buy LNG brought into Boston. Which was still pretty cheap until someone blew up Nordtream and turned off all the Russian going to Germany. Forcing the Europeans to purchase LNG at much higher costs. Therefore, driving up the demand for LNG and the price on the world market. Suddenly, Eversource was paying 5X or more for LNG than they were prior to the Ukraine war. Eversource used this fact to ask the Public Utilities Commission of NH & MA for a rate increase of roughly 100%
Someone blew up Norsdstream...You mean the sitting administration there are only three countries with the technical means to go and do covert deep water ops , Russia ,China and us. Who benefits most from that pipeline being off line. Russia is not going to cut their own d1ck off in spite of their face. China would have to mount a three ocean subsea voyage without the US or Russians tracking them on sonar so whos left.... Follow the money.
Now the squeeze has been put our junta has decided to deny LNG export permits so the EU are F’d chickens it’s kinda sweet irony. Less exports lowers domestic NG prices so it’s a win for us locals F the euros they should stew in their poor choices.
“small companies shipping items from China on the site TEMU come over with no tariffs and reduced shipping”
Guess American manufacturers don’t care enough about this to push on our politicians.
“US Postal Service gives a better shipping rate from China because it is considered a developing country”
Ugh!
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