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TL;DR version: no. The only coal plant being built is a tiny one for a university in Alaska. Three more have been in regulatory hell for so long that they're n
by labster 9y ago
TL;DR version: no.
The only coal plant being built is a tiny one for a university in Alaska. Three more have been in regulatory hell for so long that they're no longer profitable compared to every other energy source, especially natural gas. Coal is dying but no one told Trump.
- ItsDeathball 9y agoOne of the mentioned cancelled projects was a coke plant with a small electricity co-generation component. Do steel mills still need coke? If so, the decline of coal in America could be due as much to the decline of American steel processing as to emission regulations on power plants.
- fencepost 9y agoA better question might be whether US steel plants have an increasing need for coke beyond current production levels. Also, do current coal-fired power plants also produce adequate coke for future increases in demand?
- hwillis 9y agoIf coke became particularly more expensive (unlikely despite falling demand for electricity) then US steel (such as it is) would move to direct-reduced iron[1] using natural gas. Almost all steel in India is made this way. It's also worth mentioning that steel can theoretically be produced electrolytically[2] (like aluminum). It's... essentially vaporware, but who knows. It's one of the Big Dreams: more energy efficient and pure oxygen as a byproduct. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_reduced_iron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_reduced_iron [2]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cleaner-cheaper-way-to-make-steel-uses-electricity/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cleaner-cheaper-w...
- philipkglass 9y agoOnly ~15% of coal production, historically and presently, is coking coal. The declines in American coal production/use over the past decade are dominated by declines in thermal coal used as fuel.
- delazeur 9y agoYes, they still need coke, but much if not all of that demand can be met by oil refineries. Even if the steel industry got all its coke from coal that would be a pretty small percentage of the coal market.
- throwaway7645 9y agoI'm sure he's aware (maybe not), but knew the voters in coalmining towns would vote for him and other conservatives are generally coal neutral.
- digitalzombie 9y ago> no one told Trump With his track record of not listening and blaming FBI, NSA, and CIA, I think Trump is just too lazy to listen. Also I think he lives in an alternate reality, his tweets are riddle with lies and also anger.
- ZeroGravitas 9y agoTrump knows coal is dying. He also knows that by being the one guy who promises to prop it up with government support, he can gain the support of groups that might otherwise vote Democrat. The people who care about the environment and efficient running of the economy based on facts weren't going to vote for him anyway.