U.S. Abandoned Coal Mine Methane Recovery Project Opportunities

Methane Emissions (Tg CO2 Eq)
9.00
8.00
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
Figure 1-1: Methane Emissions from Abandoned Mines Over
Time in Tg CO2 Equivalent
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
At present, recovery occurs at 44 abandoned mines in the U.S. Table 1-1 shows the coal basin
and states where abandoned mine recovery projects are occurring. Of these projects, all but two
are pipeline injection projects. The remaining two projects are direct sales projects. Section 2.0
of this report highlights three abandoned mine methane recovery projects in the Illinois Basin.
Year
Table 1-1: Breakdown of AMM Projects by Coal Basin and State
Coal Basin State Number of Abandoned Mines
with Recovery
Central Appalachian Virginia 5
Northern Appalachian Ohio 2
Northern Appalachian Pennsylvania 1
Northern Appalachian West Virginia 6
Raton Colorado 1
Illinois Illinois 27
Illinois Indiana 1
Warrior Alabama 1
Total 44
In addition to profiling three successful abandoned mine methane projects; the report identifies 14
mines as potential candidates for projects. Table 1-2 summarizes the mines profiled by coal
basin and state.
8