Railroads the bottleneck for coal shipments?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

This was an interesting article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-15/hungry-u-s-power-plant-turns-to-russia-for-coal-shipment.html

[C855B]

Hmm. I don't think that's going to last long. It's a small utility. The revelation is going to keep their management constantly distracted by having to respond to the resulting bad press. Russia is already a bad actor with energy (think European natural gas supply), so you think the U.S. public is going to put up with building a dependence on Russian coal? Nuh uh.

But, granted, there are known RR bottlenecks, one of which is Grand Island, NE. BNSF's bridge across UP is still single track and snarls everything. Another is power. All the RRs seem to be more desperate than usual ever since Bakken went online.

Too many trains... such a problem to have.

[John]

The biggest bottleneck to power plants getting coal is the EPA

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The biggest bottleneck to power plants getting coal is the EPA

How so?

[CodyO]

That was a interesting read

I'd like to think it was due to power shortage and the RRs cutting back too many lines

[John]

How so?

Easy .. EPA rules require increasingly lower sulphur content, you have to ship it in from the midwest .. which means trains are on the road longer per round trip .. there are a finite number of coal cars available .. simple logistics .. bet you thought I was going to make a political statemen 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Nope! I know you better than that!

I was curious to hear the rationale though.

[Blazeman]

Low sulfur coal, decent BTU's, price right (delivered to US port) then minimal cost for haul to generator = no brainer.

As for traffic jams, CSX is expanding capacity for Illinois Basin coal to expedite transit times.

For pricing, so many old contracts for rail moves expired during the last couple years and renewals came in with some pretty solid increases. This has caused energy firms to recalculate their mixes of coal (Powder River low sulfur, Appalachian higher BTU, Illinois low price, high sulfur) blending. Political winds blowing from DC through EPA and administration further create reason for different approaches in coal supply. Now natural gas prices dropped a bit to make the cheese more binding.

[VonRyan]

Everything I've read and heard from those who have experienced it, Russian coal isn't worth it's weight in dog crap.
You'd probably be better off buring the dog crap.

Russian coal is notorious for doing nothing but making fairly thick black smoke and a crap-ton of clinkers, or just not burning at all.

[C855B]

I suspect there are many different grades of Russian coal, just like there are many grades of U.S. coal.

But like I said, U.S. utility importation of it won't last long, especially now in the wake of the embargoes being imposed on Russian energy assets.

[Blazeman]

Just a few years ago, Florida power plants were importing coal from Colombia.

 

[Ian MacMillan]

The biggest bottleneck to power plants getting coal is the EPA

Or using it. Currently the Bow, NH coal plant can receive coal, but can't use it until costly upgrades...so they just keep building the pile higher and higher until they can use it 

[nkalanaga]

"You'd probably be better off buring the dog crap."

Pig manure.  It's high in energy value, plentiful, and hard to dispose of.