natural gas is now more than coal, but coal will continue to shrink in US

austingreen · Apr 24, 2013

4 Reasons Coal Declines Even As Natural Gas Prices Rise: EIA - Forbes

While price remains the primary factor in the short-term race between gas and coal, four other factors help gas displace coal in the long term, according to EIA:

Efficiency: The efficiency of power generation from gas means it competes with coal even when it costs 1.5 times as much. “When the ratio of natural gas prices to coal prices is approximately 1.5 or lower, a typical natural gas-fired combined-cycle plant has lower generating costs than a typical coal-fired plant.”

Competitiveness: “For new builds, natural gas and renewables generally are more competitive than coal.”

Flexibility: “In general, combined-cycle (gas) units are considered to be more flexible than steam turbines. They can ramp their output up and down more easily, and their start-up and shutdown procedures involve less time and expense.”

Regulation: “The interaction of fuel prices and environmental rules is a key factor in coal plant retirements. AEO2013 assumes that all coal-fired plants have flue gas desulfurization equipment (scrubbers) or dry sorbent injection systems installed by 2016 to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. Higher coal prices, lower wholesale electricity prices (often tied to natural gas prices), and reduced use may make investment in such equipment uneconomical in some cases, resulting in plant retirements.”

EIA considers the effects of sulfur and mercury regulation on the competition between gas and coal, but it does not consider the impact of EPA’s proposed carbon regulations, which could be much greater:

EPA’s Proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants would require that new fossil fuel-fired power plants meet an output-based standard of 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatthour of electricity generated. That standard would effectively prohibit the construction of new coal-fired power plants without carbon capture and storage. Currently, the EPA is evaluating comments and expects to issue a final rule in 2013. Because the rule is not yet final, it is not assumed to take effect in any of the AEO2013 cases.
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natural gas is now more than coal, but coal will continue to shrink in US

austingreen Senior Member

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natural gas is now more than coal, but coal will continue to shrink in US

austingreen Senior Member