Ohio's Dependence on Imported Coal

[irishbobcat]

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.