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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (7512)	4/28/2008 3:27:09 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24225

Brayton Point: Energy author expects coal peak production in 2040 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Marc Munroe Dion GateHouse News Service Posted Apr 26, 2008 @ 09:30 PM Somerset — People in the coal-fired power plant business believe that there is more than 250 years worth of coal production left in U.S. mines. What if they’re wrong? Richard Heinberg thinks they are. Author of eight books about energy, Heinberg thinks the end of domestic and world coal supplies may be coming a lot sooner. “There is a suggestion U.S. coal production could peak in 2040,” Heinberg said The peak point of production for coal, like the same point for oil, means the moment when production can no longer be increased and must inevitably decline as resources run out. That, in turn, leads to massive price increases long before the eventual complete depletion of the resource. Heinberg bases his theory in part on research done by the Energy Watch Group, a group reporting to the German Parliament. “That’s what I’m going to talk about Monday,” Heinberg said Friday, “the idea that world studies show coal supplies are not as abundant as we thought. “A lot of countries haven’t done a geological survey in decades,” Heinberg said. In 1907, Britain said it had 5,000 years of coal,” Heinberg said. “Now, they say they have 200. Where did the other 4,800 go?” What does this mean for coal-fired power plants. “It means that shortages of coal are within the horizon of any power plant we might build today,” Heinberg said. And it isn’t just the moment when the world runs out of coal that’s important. “When you extract natural resources, you go after the easy, high-quality stuff first,” Heinberg said. Heinberg said the easy to mine, high-quality coal in Pennsylvania and Virginia is already thinning out. There’s more coal in Illinois and Wyoming, but it is of lower quality and costs more to extract. “That means we can’t count on the current price of coal,” Heinberg said. Heinberg said that’s a call to change the source of our energy. Wind power and the power of the ocean will not run out as coal will, Heinberg said. “Coal is going to become more expensive,” Heinberg said. “Wind isn’t and neither will tides or waves. Heinberg said companies building or operating coal-fired plants are simply believing “what everyone believes” when they believe there is another 250 years of coal in the ground. “It’s time to take coal with a big grain of salt,” he said. Heinberg will speak Monday at 3 p.m. in Building L, Room L 108, Bristol Community College, 777 Elsbree St., Fall River. heraldnews.com