Texas: Coal use climbs, Earth Suffers
In the past decade, coal consumption in the state has grown exponetially, spurring a search for cleaner production
Hutton Harris, Student Reporter and Kelsi Peace, Managing Editor
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Energy Special
West Texas is about to contribute to the coal it consumes more than any other state in the nation, thanks to the February unveiling of plans to construct the world's first carbon capturing coal plant.In addition, FutureGen had a clear land title for the power plant, where they planned to inject carbon dioxide, a by-product of coal, into the land.
According to the Abilene Reporter-News, Tenaska Inc., a Nebraska-based company, will build its $3-billion plant nine miles outside Sweetwater, providing an estimated 100 permanent jobs and offering an eco-friendly method of dealing with carbon emissions.
The plant also offers something more tangible: power.
The plant could provide power for about 600,000, according to the Reporter-News.
Authorities at Tenaska say the plant can capture up to 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions released from coal, according the Reporter-News. Usually, these emissions are released into the atmosphere and are often criticized for contributing to global warming and otherwise damaging the environment.
Once captured, the carbon will be stored in the Permian Basin and could increase oil production at the site. Authorities told the Reporter-News the Nolan County land was pegged as ideal because of its railroad access, which will allow coal to be imported from Colorado, Montana and Wyoming.
The 1,900-acre area also contains sufficient water for the generating process.
The Reporter-News reported in February that construction could begin by the end of next year, with completion slated for 2014.
The plant represents just one step in energy development, in a state that weighs in heavy for its coal use and light on its coal resources.
"Although Texas is the country's No. 1 consumer of coal, we just don't have the geological features or natural deposits in this area," FutureGen Permian Basin regional director Hoxie Smith said.
Although West Texas is not a hotspot for coal production today, just down the road in Thurber sits the most significant mining town in Texas in the early 20th century. From 1888 to the mid 1930s, the little town between Fort Worth and Abilene on Interstate 20 produced more than 3,000 tons of coal per day. This production of coal supplied fuel mainly for Texas and Pacific Railroad as well as several other railroads across the southwest.
During the 1990s, Texas produced about 52 million tons of lignite every year. (Coal is categorized in four classes or ranks. Ranging from lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous to anthracite, no two of these coals are exactly alike).
Now the sixth and 12th largest coaling mines in the United States are located in Texas.
"Texas does have the fifth largest lignite supply in the country," Smith said.
More than 25 million tons of lignite per year comes out of the Martin Lake and Monticello mines, both of which are owned by Texas Utilities Mining Company. Even so, there is still about 24 billion tons of lignite under the earth's surface for use.
Experts predict Texas' coal consumption to be about 180 million tons per year - twice as much the state consumed in 1990. However, the state's hunger for excessive coal production has and will continue to cause serious problems to the earth's atmosphere.
Experts say five out of the top 10 sources for air pollution in the state of Texas are coal-fired electric power plants. These plants are also a major reason why Texas is the nation's leader in carbon dioxide emissions from all sources. They release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides, particular matter and mercury.
Although these statistics could seem daunting and paint Texas as the bad guy, significant efforts are being made to ensure a cleaner way of producing coal.
"Many plants in Texas are now going to the IGCC system," said Jay Dauenhauer of Clean Coal Tech Foundation of Texas.
The Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), is a power plant that uses synthetic gases called "syngas."
This machine is often used to power a specific gas turbine generator whose waste heat is conceded through a steam turbine system.
"Our main goal is to capture carbon dioxide in the safest and cleanest way possible," Dauenhauer said.
West Texas is not a major contributor to coal as oil. Governor Rick Perry had plans to change that in 2007 with the announcement that FutureGen would build 11 coal-mining plants around Texas for increased coal production. But the people of Texas spoke up quickly to defend the atmosphere from the horrors of pollution. Texas soon lost its bid to build those 11 plants when FutureGen picked Mattoon, Ill., instead because the company felt like it was power plant ready.
This decision was made in part because Texas went through one of its biggest environmental debates 30 years ago when Energy Future Holdings, also known as TXU, proposed building these 11 higher-polluting coal plants. The heated debate was picked up by local media and eventually drove other states to shoot down the idea of producing these coal plants.
This realization could be the beginning of the end for the coal industry because of the pollution it produces.
At ACU, Jim Cooke, professor of agricultural and environmental sciences, speaks of saving the environment for years to come in the Tuesday Chapel sessions of Campus Conversations.
"I am not a huge advocate of coal and the pollution that it produces," Cooke said. "I believe as Christians we should protect the environment that God has given us for today and future generations."
-THE COAL, HARD FACTS-
* Texas is the nation's No. 1 coal consumer, but the state doesn't have many natural deposits for coal mining.
* Experts estimate Texas consumes about 180 million ton of coal per year - twice as much as was consumed in 1990.
* In the '90s, Texas produced about 52 million tons of lignite, a type of coal, each year.
* Texas is the No. 1 producer of carbon dioxide emissions from all sources.
E-mail Harris at: optimist@acu.edu
According to the Abilene Reporter-News, Tenaska Inc., a Nebraska-based company, will build its $3-billion plant nine miles outside Sweetwater, providing an estimated 100 permanent jobs and offering an eco-friendly method of dealing with carbon emissions.
The plant also offers something more tangible: power.
The plant could provide power for about 600,000, according to the Reporter-News.
Authorities at Tenaska say the plant can capture up to 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions released from coal, according the Reporter-News. Usually, these emissions are released into the atmosphere and are often criticized for contributing to global warming and otherwise damaging the environment.
Once captured, the carbon will be stored in the Permian Basin and could increase oil production at the site. Authorities told the Reporter-News the Nolan County land was pegged as ideal because of its railroad access, which will allow coal to be imported from Colorado, Montana and Wyoming.
The 1,900-acre area also contains sufficient water for the generating process.
The Reporter-News reported in February that construction could begin by the end of next year, with completion slated for 2014.
The plant represents just one step in energy development, in a state that weighs in heavy for its coal use and light on its coal resources.
"Although Texas is the country's No. 1 consumer of coal, we just don't have the geological features or natural deposits in this area," FutureGen Permian Basin regional director Hoxie Smith said.
Although West Texas is not a hotspot for coal production today, just down the road in Thurber sits the most significant mining town in Texas in the early 20th century. From 1888 to the mid 1930s, the little town between Fort Worth and Abilene on Interstate 20 produced more than 3,000 tons of coal per day. This production of coal supplied fuel mainly for Texas and Pacific Railroad as well as several other railroads across the southwest.
During the 1990s, Texas produced about 52 million tons of lignite every year. (Coal is categorized in four classes or ranks. Ranging from lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous to anthracite, no two of these coals are exactly alike).
Now the sixth and 12th largest coaling mines in the United States are located in Texas.
"Texas does have the fifth largest lignite supply in the country," Smith said.
More than 25 million tons of lignite per year comes out of the Martin Lake and Monticello mines, both of which are owned by Texas Utilities Mining Company. Even so, there is still about 24 billion tons of lignite under the earth's surface for use.
Experts predict Texas' coal consumption to be about 180 million tons per year - twice as much the state consumed in 1990. However, the state's hunger for excessive coal production has and will continue to cause serious problems to the earth's atmosphere.
Experts say five out of the top 10 sources for air pollution in the state of Texas are coal-fired electric power plants. These plants are also a major reason why Texas is the nation's leader in carbon dioxide emissions from all sources. They release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides, particular matter and mercury.
Although these statistics could seem daunting and paint Texas as the bad guy, significant efforts are being made to ensure a cleaner way of producing coal.
"Many plants in Texas are now going to the IGCC system," said Jay Dauenhauer of Clean Coal Tech Foundation of Texas.
The Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), is a power plant that uses synthetic gases called "syngas."
This machine is often used to power a specific gas turbine generator whose waste heat is conceded through a steam turbine system.
"Our main goal is to capture carbon dioxide in the safest and cleanest way possible," Dauenhauer said.
West Texas is not a major contributor to coal as oil. Governor Rick Perry had plans to change that in 2007 with the announcement that FutureGen would build 11 coal-mining plants around Texas for increased coal production. But the people of Texas spoke up quickly to defend the atmosphere from the horrors of pollution. Texas soon lost its bid to build those 11 plants when FutureGen picked Mattoon, Ill., instead because the company felt like it was power plant ready.
This decision was made in part because Texas went through one of its biggest environmental debates 30 years ago when Energy Future Holdings, also known as TXU, proposed building these 11 higher-polluting coal plants. The heated debate was picked up by local media and eventually drove other states to shoot down the idea of producing these coal plants.
This realization could be the beginning of the end for the coal industry because of the pollution it produces.
At ACU, Jim Cooke, professor of agricultural and environmental sciences, speaks of saving the environment for years to come in the Tuesday Chapel sessions of Campus Conversations.
"I am not a huge advocate of coal and the pollution that it produces," Cooke said. "I believe as Christians we should protect the environment that God has given us for today and future generations."
-THE COAL, HARD FACTS-
* Texas is the nation's No. 1 coal consumer, but the state doesn't have many natural deposits for coal mining.
* Experts estimate Texas consumes about 180 million ton of coal per year - twice as much as was consumed in 1990.
* In the '90s, Texas produced about 52 million tons of lignite, a type of coal, each year.
* Texas is the No. 1 producer of carbon dioxide emissions from all sources.
E-mail Harris at: optimist@acu.edu
Submit a comment on this story