Analysis - The Institute for Southern Studies

“Using [coal] fly ash in building materials is nothing new, as it’s already incorporated in products including Portland cement
and asphalt concrete. However, it’s estimated that 65 percent of fly ash from coal-fired power plants worldwide goes to
landfills, with the U.S. reporting a slightly lower 57 percent, according to the American Coal Ash Association. Kane said the
key to CalStar’s products is that they offer the same performance as aesthetics as traditional bricks, but without the energy use.
Currently, the cost to buy a ton of fly ash in the U.S. ranges from about $5 to $30, but that could change as fly ash disposal
faces tighter government restrictions, he said. “The cost to send fly ash to landfills will go up, and utilities will be faced with
finding the most beneficial use,” Kane said.” 146
The baseline average “raw material acquisition cost” is $94.50/ton, consisting of CCR price, CCR disposal cost, and CCR transportation cost:
1. CCR price: Price paid to electric utility plants by beneficial use industries for the purchase of CCR. ACAA identifies 15 industrial
beneficial use markets involving the beneficial use of CCR, many of which involve the construction industry. 147 The average price paid
by these industries to electric utility plants is $3.00 per ton, across a reported range of $0 to $45 per ton. 148
2. CCR disposal cost: Cost to the electric utility industry for disposing CCR. This factor also represents the “avoided disposal cost
incentive” in the sense that this is an “avoided cost” to the electric utility industry for CCR tonnages beneficially used by other
industries. A unitized “total cost” ($ per ton) for CCR disposal consisting of both a 50-year amortized capital cost for CCR disposal
units plus a 50-year amortized O&M costs for CCR disposal is used to monetize this cost factor. 149 The average baseline CCR disposal
cost is $59/ton (source: Exhibit 3L). This is additive to the “CCR price” element because it represents a subsidy by electricity plants.
3. CCR transport cost: Average one-way CCR transport distance between electric utility plants and their CCR beneficial use customer
industries. This method does not explicitly distinguish whether the transport cost is paid by the electric utility plants or by the
beneficial use industries. 150 Average CCR transport cost from electric utility plants to beneficial use sites is estimated at
($0.26/mile/ton) 151 x (125 miles) 152 = $32.50/ton.
146 Source: Cleantech Group, “CalStar Gives Sneak Peek of Low-Carbon Brick Factory,” 29 Oct 2009 at http://cleantech.com/news/5217/calstar-flyash-low-carbon-brick
147 ACAA lists 15 beneficial use markets: concrete, cement, flowable fill, structural fill/embankments, road base/sub-base, soil modification, mineral filler in asphalt,
snow/ice control, blasting grit/roofing granules, mining applications, gypsum panel products, waste stabilization/solidification, agriculture, construction aggregate, and
miscellaneous uses.
148 $3 per-ton CCR price is from Column E of Exhibit 5C-1; this price represents the tonnage-weighted average across a reported price range of $0 to $45 per ton CCR.
149 Although in the short-run (< 3 years), marginal business decisions may be made relative to short-term O&M costs, long-term (> 3 years) business decisions usually
consider both amortized capital costs and O&M costs.
150 The CCR price data used to monetize the CCR price factor above are reportedly based on “FOB” prices which may include some portion of transport cost (e.g., transport
vehicle loading to a trans-shipment location).
151 $0.26 per-ton-per-mile is the midpoint of the $0.15 to $0.37 per-ton-per-mile range reported in “Estimation of the Marginal Greenhouse Gas Abatement Curve for the
Beneficial Use of Fly Ash as a Substitute for Portland Cement in Ready-Mix Concrete Production,” EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR), 19 June
2009, page 11.
152 125 miles is the midpoint of the 100 to 150 mile range reported in footnote 74 on page 4-8 of EPA’s 03 June 2008 “Report to Congress: Study on Increasing the Usage
of Recovered Mineral Components in Federal Funded Projects Involving Procurement of Cement or Concrete to Address the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation, Equity Act: A Legacy for Uses by the EPA, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Energy (DOE),” report nr. EPA530-R-08-007,
available at http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/tools/cpg/products/cement2.htm.
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