Abandoned mines and quarries are dangerous places! Every year about 20 to 30 people die in accidents that occur in abandoned mines across the United States. The victims range in age from preschool children to an 85 year-old mining veteran.
USGS is working on a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide. Their publication: Geologic Framework for the National Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources─Bighorn Basin, Wyoming and Montana is part of that effort.
The Energy Information Administration expects electricity generation from coal to decline by about 15 percent in 2012 as generation from natural gas increases by about 24 percent.
Natural gas from shale currently costs half as much as coal per BTU. Producing electricity with natural gas from shale is more efficient than coal. Natural gas from shale produces less CO2 than coal when it is used to generate electricity. What’s the problem?
With the price of natural gas at $2 or below lots of coal-fired power plants are converting to natural gas – and the price of Wyoming coal has fallen by 45 percent.
Missouri University of Science and Technology is launching a new geothermalenergy project intended to eliminate the need for an on-campus coal and woodchip-fired power plant. In addition to saving up to $2.8 million/year in energy costs, the new system will eliminate the need for $26 million deferred maintenance costs and cut campus water usage by 8 million gallons per year.
“USGS scientists discuss the opportunities and impact associated with hydraulic fracturing. Doug Duncan, associate coordinator for the USGS Energy Resources Program, addresses the increasing role that unconventional oil and gas resources play in the nation’s petroleum endowment. USGS hydrologist Dennis Risser discusses some of the major water availability and quality challenges associated with natural gas development, with a focus on the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Bill Leith, associate coordinator the USGS Hazards Program, concludes by discussing the potential connection between disposal of waste fluids from hydraulic fracturing and earthquakes.” Quoted from the USGS video release.
“EIA expects electricity generation from coal to decline by about 10 percent in 2012 as generation from natural gas increases by about 17 percent. EIA forecasts that electricity generation from coal will increase by about 7 percent and generation from natural gas fall by 3 percent in 2013 as projected coal prices to the power sector fall slightly while natural gas prices increase, allowing coal to regain some of its power sector generation share.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration press release.
Arch Coal’s Spruce Mine, a mountaintop removal project in Logan County, West Virginia was approved, then denied and then approved again. If developed, it will be the largest mountaintop removal project in the state.
“The U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 448 billion cubic feet of potential technically recoverable unconventional natural gas in Carboniferous and Permian coal-bearing strata in the eastern uplift of the Liaohe Basin, Liaoning Province, China.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
According to data published by the Energy Information Administration, coal imports are decreasing. Even with enormous domestic production the United States remains an importer of coal. However over the past few years the amount of coal imported has been falling. Eleven month totals (January-November) have been: 2009 (21.017 quads), 2010 (19.993 quads), 2011 (16.776 quads).
In northern China, researchers have found a fossilcoal swamp that was quickly buried and preserved by a fall of volcanic ash approximately 300 million years ago.
“Today, for the most part, higher education for students interested in energy lacks the cross-disciplinary curriculum that they critically need, and so we propose the adoption of energy departments on college campuses, departments that would tie seemingly disconnected fields of the sector together.” Quoted from the article.
“Since the establishment of the Acid Rain Program, of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, there have been substantial reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions from power plants that use fossil fuels, which are known to be the primary causes of acid rain. As of 2009, emissions of SO2 and NOx declined by about two-thirds relative to levels in the 1990s.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
USGS has recently published: “Shallow Coal Exploration Drill-Hole Data—Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas”. Data is available by state in MS Excel files.
Australia is the world’s leading exporter of coal but exports from Indonesia are growing rapidly. Both of these countries are positioned to serve the rising coal demands of China.
Global coal demand has almost doubled since 1980. Demand in most parts of the world is flat to declining but the use of coal in Asia is growing rapidly.
ExxonMobile has release their 2012 Outlook for Energy. This annual publication always presents the company’s forward-looking ideas for world energy supplies and company opportunities and challenges. They believe that fossil fuels will continue to supply most of the world’s energy and in 2040 they will supply 80%.
The ExxonMobile 2012 Outlook for Energy has a chart that compares current demand for energy sources with the forecast demand in 2040. Demand for all sources of energy increases. Although wind and solar demand grows rapidly, in 2040 their total use is still dwarfed by the demand for oil, gas and coal.
The Energy Information Administration has an article that explores the sources of primary energy in the United States. Primary energy includes petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear fuel, and renewable energy.
The Energy Information Administration has release a country analysis brief for energy production and consumption in India. The chart below shows total energy consumption by type for 2009. The “combustible renewables and waste” category includes firewood and dengue, which are used by more than 800 million Indian households for cooking. Coal continues as the country’s major energy source.
As part of their International Energy Outlook, The Energy Information Administration has released a chart showing the projected sources for electricity generation. Renewable sources are expected to move into the lead and the use of coal, natural gas and nuclear will continue an uninterrupted rise. Petroleum liquids is the only source expected to decline.
An article on the Pittsburgh Live website explains how about half of the community of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania is undermined and has a subsidence risk.
Dave Petley has posted an update with before and after photos for the recent landslide that occurred at a power plant near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The slide sent an estimated 2500 cubic yards of ash into the waters of Lake Michigan.
The Energy Information Administration has published a new country analysis brief for Australia. The country is the largest exporter of coal and the fourth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.
During 2010, Arizona’s non-fuel mineral production totaled $6.7 billion – about 10.5% of the USA production. Principal commodities mined were copper, molybdenum, sand and gravel, cement and crushed stone. Arizona also produced $273 million of coal bringing the total mined value to nearly $7 billion.
An article in the Denver Post describes what the Colorado Geological Survey is doing to investigate minesubsidence problems in the Weld County area – where collapsing mines are damaging buildings, roads, utilities and more.
An article on the Trib.com website explores subsidence problems near Rock Springs, Wyoming that have already cost $160 million to repair but with no end in sight.
“South Korea was the world’s tenth largest energy consumer in 2008, and with its lack of domestic reserves, Korea is one of the top energy importers in the world. The country is the fifth largest importer of crude oil, the third largest importer of coal, and the second largest importer of liquefied natural gas.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration Country Analysis Report.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is considering a case on how mineral rights are defined that could overturn lots of natural gas leases that have been signed over the past century.
In 2010, China was responsible for nearly 1/2 of the world’s coal production and the amount that they have been producing is growing rapidly. It has nearly tripled since 2000.
“South Africa’s energy sector is critical to the economy as the country relies heavily on its large-scale, energy-intensive mining industry. South Africa has only small deposits of conventional oil and natural gas and uses its large coal deposits for most of its energy needs. As a result, carbon emission and intensity levels are relatively high. The country also has a highly developed synthetic fuels industry, producing gasoline and diesel fuels from coal and natural gas.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration country analysis brief.
Over the next twenty years China, India and other Asian nations will be rapidly increasing their electricity generation and consumption rates. Most of the electricity will be generated by burning coal.
Is natural gas part of the shale or is it a fugitive commodity that is not an integral part of any specific rock unit? Will a refined legal definition of natural gas in Pennsylvania overturn thousands of historic leases?
Immediately after Japan was hit with a devastating earthquake and tsunami plans were underway to replace much of the country’s nuclear power generating capacity with fossil fuels. This New York Times article explores how this is being done and at what cost.
“The share of electricity generated by coal during the first three months of this year was at its lowest first-quarter level in more than 30 years. [...] The decline in the share of generation provided by coal is offset by increased generation fueled by other energy sources, particularly natural gas.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration report.
Peabody Energy, a US company, will be working with a Chinese company and a Russian company to develop the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposits in the south Gobi Desert of Mongolia. The Tavan Tolgoi is one of the largest coal deposits in the world.
Several states and private land trusts tried to sue American Electric Power Company because greenhouse gas emissions from AEP’s power plants were contributing to climate change. The Supreme Court ruled that regulation of greenhouse gases belongs to the Environmental Protection Agency and not to the courts.
The recent earthquake in Japan created new concerns around the use of nuclear power as fears of climate change have damaged the prospects of coal as a fuel for power generation. These promote natural gas to the most promising power plant fuel.
“Colombia is emerging as a significant energy producer in the South America. The country has seen a dramatic increase in oil production in recent years following a period of steady decline. Improves security situation coupled with regulatory reforms made the sector more attractive to foreign investors, spurring energy development. [...] Colombia is the United States’ largest source of coal imports and tenth largest source of oil imports.” Quoted from the EIA country analysis brief.
Experiments in Ohio are determining the potential of carbon dioxide injection to enhance production from low-yield oil wells. The state’s coal-fired power plants produce enormous amounts of carbon dioxide that is currently released into the atmosphere because it can not be transported economically to oil production sites.
“Though no longer a net exporter of oil, Indonesia is a leading exporter of both coal and natural gas. As domestic energy needs grow, Indonesia is increasingly trying to focus on securing energy sources for its domestic market.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration’s Country Analysis Brief.
Welcome to Geology News!
Every day you can find links to several earth science news topics right here.
Bookmark this page and visit often. You can also receive our news for free by RSS feed or in a daily email message.
Advertising
Popular From Geology.com
Marcellus Shale: The most overlooked resource in the eastern United States!
Diamonds from Coal? Diamonds form under a variety of conditions that rarely involve coal as a source of carbon.
Mineral Rights / Oil & Gas: Who owns the minerals under your land? Have they been sold? Can someone mine without permission?
The Many Uses of Gold: Learn how the unique properties of gold make it extremely suited for a large number of industrial uses.
