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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal For the record, it is technically cheaper to process strip-mined PRB coal into a higher BTU/low moisture product than it is to mine Eastern US underground coal. The reason is that PRB coals are so cheap to begin with relative to Eastern coals, that the added costs of processing PRB coals into higher value coal products is still less expensive than raw Eastern coals. The big problem with such synthetic coals is an inability to transport the product in regular coal gons due to spontaneous combustion of the product. If and when that problem is ever worked out, "value-added" PRB coal products will be less expensive per mmBtu than Appalachian coals. [/quote] That might be true at the mine head but it is hardly true when you factor in the delivery cost. My son works at a power plant in Ohio. The Wyoming coal is substantially more expensive on a per ton basis than is the local Ohio and West Virginia coal. When you consider per BTU the Wyoming coal is outrageously expensive. The PRB coal is only used to bring the total sulfer content down to legal limits. If it were not for the regulations, the power company would not bother with it. Additionally, the Wyoming coal very often is already on fire when it arrives at the power plant. The first thing the employees must do is spread it out and douse it with water. Only then can it be put into the feed bins. That simply adds more expense to the use of the Wyoming coal, which of course causes the electric rates to be just that much higher.
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