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And it is not just the tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline facts
that need to be straightened out; the coal industry is currently on a major
PR push to pressure the public into believing that locally produced coal is
a crucial part of the U.S.’s energy independence. The U.S. is the fourth
largest coal exporter in the world and companies are working hard to
increase production and shipments.
“America’s abundant coal reserves — and our continued use of coal
to generate electricity — also promote greater U.S. energy security,” said
American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a front group that is made
up of over 40 coal industry companies. “The reason is simple: The coal we
rely upon is found right here at home, and we have a more than 200-year
supply based upon today’s rate of usage.”
While it may be true that the U.S. has some of the world’s largest
reserves, along with Canada a total of 29 percent of the globe’s
recoverable coal, major companies like Peabody and Arch Coal are
looking more and more at oversees markets and mines to turn a profit.
They know the jig is up here at home, where dozens of new coal plant
proposals are being tossed in the trash. As such, Asian countries are
increasingly coming into play, as China continues to build two mid-size
power plants a week. In 2007 the Energy Watch Group reported that China
could reach maximum production by 2015, which means they will have to
get much of their coal from elsewhere.
This is why companies operating in the coal-rich Powder River Basin
are increasingly eyeing potential coal export facilities up and down the
West Coast. There are only two coal terminals that ship coal to Asia; one
in Seward, Alaska and another major terminal in Vancouver, B.C. Coal
exports from the U.S. to Asian markets during the first six months of 2010
increased almost 400 percent compared to the entire year of 2009. It’s one
of the only shimmering lights on the horizon for the struggling coal
industry, which is facing increased opposition in the U.S. as old power
plants are shuttered and new proposals are being met with stiff resistance.
This hasn’t stopped the Obama administration from pumping
hundreds of millions into “clean coal” projects or from allowing the
Bureau of Land Management from opening up public lands in the Powder