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Morrow Pacific: Life Cycle Assessment of a Coal Export Project
Date
2013-04-25
Author
Advisor
Patino-Echeverri, Dalia
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Abstract
Stricter emissions requirements on coal-fired power plants together with low natural
gas prices have contributed to a recent decline in the use of coal for electricity
generation in the United States. Faced with a shrinking domestic market, many coal
companies are taking advantage of a growing coal export market. As a result, U.S.
coal exports hit an all-time high in 2012, fueled largely by demand in Asia. The
Australian firm Ambre Energy is currently pursuing a permit to develop and operate
a coal export project in Oregon that will ship 8.8 million tons of Powder River Basin
coal annually to Asian markets via rail, river barge, and ocean vessel. This study
uses a hybrid life cycle assessment model to conduct the only environmental life cycle
analysis of the project to date. Social and environmental impacts are quantified
and monetized to provide a full picture of the project’s externalities as a basis
for comparison to other energy export alternatives. Findings show that fuel combustion
during the three transport phases of the project contributes significant emissions
add-ons to the pollution profile of the exported coal. This study highlights the
unintended social and environmental consequences of policies intended to reduce air
emissions from domestic coal-fired power plants.
Type
Master's projectSubject
coal exportmorrow pacific project
life cycle assessment
energy transport
coal export project
morrow pacific
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6821Citation
Bohnengel, Andrew Barrett (2013). Morrow Pacific: Life Cycle Assessment of a Coal Export Project. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6821.Collections
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