MidAmerican Energy is the operator of a 1600 megawatt four unit coal-fired power plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa, commonly known as Walter Scott, Jr.
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Estimates are that it cost double that of a coal unit, which produce twice the oomph, or BTUs, as do wood chips.
Avg coal waste per unit: 300, 000 tons of coal ash annually.
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Natural gas emits about half as much carbon dioxide per unit of energy as coal.
Gas emits about half as much carbon dioxide as coal per unit of energy produced.
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It produces less carbon dioxide for a unit of energy than coal or oil, so the climate will benefit to the degree that gas replaces either of those: it will mostly substitute for coal, though some oil too, especially if gas-powered trucking becomes widespread.
It said the first unit would be converted from coal to biomass in April, with another to follow in 2014.
But there's no denying that burning natural gas (methane, that is) produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy than burning coal.
This is not meant in the typical IT vernacular, i.e. as a solution loses competitiveness and value, but in the true definition: Cloud will be understood as a commodity analogous to coal, and a unit for that commodity and a futures market will be defined and created.
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Ironically, coal moves faster on 60 mph unit trains.
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But four out of nine coal power stations and a lignite unit currently under construction are unlikely to be commissioned as originally scheduled in 2011 and 2012, due to a problem with boiler construction.
When anticipated supply is sufficiently high, gas undercuts coal as the fuel of choice for electrical generation, which results in reduced carbon dioxide emissions, as natural gas produces only about 50% to 70% of the carbon dioxide per unit output (depending upon your metric) that coal does.
But the conglomerate also includes a forestry arm (which may be the first unit to go), a consumer products unit that produces Nike shoes under license, a subsidiary that mines coal and a plantation that produces and exports palm oil.
For the average industry, the average company, we can make huge progress on solar, we can make huge progress on wind, but the unit costs -- energy costs that you get from those technologies relative to coal are still going to be pretty substantial.
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There is also an exploration unit engaged in tie-ups with other mining companies to prospect for gold, diamond and coal (its main tin reserves at Bangka are expected to last only another decade).
The carbon dioxide intensity of U.S. energy supply (CO2 per unit of energy) in 2009 also dropped as a result of lower natural gas prices relative to coal.
So it can buy royalty streams from coal mining companies (most collect royalties from reserves as well as mining their own coal) at five to seven times cash flow and still boost returns to its own unit holders.
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