The Union of Concerned Scientists reported last week that the
cost of importing coal is a major drain on the
economies of many states that rely heavily on coalfired
power. Thirty-eight states were net importers of
coal in 2008, from other states and, increasingly, other nations.
Burning Coal, Burning Cash ranks the states that are the
most dependent on imported coal. This fact sheet shows the
scale of this annual drain on Ohio ratepayers, and discusses
ways to keep more of that money in-state through investments
in energy efficiency and homegrown renewable energy.
Ohio imported nearly three-quarters of the coal its power
plants used in 2008—some from as far away as Montana and
Wyoming. To pay for those imports, Ohio sent $1.87 billion
out of state. In-state mines supplied the rest of Ohio's coal
and also exported coal worth $381 million to other states.
The state spent a net $1.49 billion on imported coal.
First Energy Generation, Ohio's second-largest provider
of electricity services, purchased $570 million in coal imports—
30 percent of the state's gross total, and more than
any other power producer in the state. First Energy's W.H.
Sammis plant, in Stratton, spent $291 million on coal imports—
more than any other power plant in Ohio. The plant
is the twenty-first-largest source of carbon dioxide emissions
(the main cause of global warming) among hundreds of coal
plants nationwide.