An eastbound loaded PPLX (Pennsylvania Power & Light) unit coal train passes through West Park on a sunny and mild winter afternoon. This train is likely headed for one of PPL’s three 1500+ megawatt coal fired power plants east of Pittsburgh—Conemaugh, Keystone or Montour.
It’s interesting to see both loaded and empty unit coal trains going both east and west through the Pittsburgh area. The reason is simple: coal-fired power plants are designed specifically to burn specific types of coal. The technical requirements for coal-fired power plants differ dramatically depending upon the type of coal they are designed to burn. It would be cost-prohibitive to build a power plant that could burn all types of coal.
Appalachian bituminous coal produces about 50 percent more energy than Powder River Basin coal; however, it also produces much higher sulfur dioxide emissions.
Powder River Basin sub-bituminous coal produces less sulfur dioxide and it costs about one sixth as much (at the mine). Unfortunately for coal-fired power plants east of the Mississippi, the Powder River Basin is in northeastern Wyoming. So, PRB coal, which is cheap at the mine, costs a lot more when transportation is figured into the business equation.
In the eastern US, particularly, power companies must decide, when building new plants, whether to use PRB coal that produces less energy per ton, but also emits less sulfur dioxide; or, to use Appalachian coal that yields higher energy output but requires significant investment in sulfur dioxide emission control equipment (e.g., scrubbers).
So, this is why it’s common to see loaded unit coal trains from Wyoming, often with BNSF or UP run-through power, east of the Mississippi, and as far east as major Atlantic seaboard cities.
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