PRB Coal Users' Group grapples with supply chain challenges

Dr. Robert Peltier, PE

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Consumption of Powder River Basin coal continues to grow, from 28 million tons annually in the mid-1970s to what is now 400 million tons per year. Existing plants as far east as Nova Scotia burn the low-sulfur coal to comply with increasingly stringent limits on SO₂ emissions, and PRB coal has become the fuel of choice for a new generation of coal plants now under construction.

Since 1999, the PRB Coal Users' Group (PRBCUG) has preached the advantages of using PRB coal and served as a forum for trading information on the safe and efficient combustion of this low-cost and environmentally friendlier, but dusty fuel. Membership in the group continues to grow; more than 350 representatives of 95 generating companies attended this year's three and one-half day annual meeting (Figure 1).

1. Industrywide interest. More than 350 employees of 95 different gencos attended this year's PRBCUG annual meeting, colocated with the ELECTRIC POWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition. Source: Leslie Claire, POWER magazine

The meeting—once again sponsored by Benetech Inc.—began with a welcome by outgoing PRBCUG Chairman Charles Kitchens, project manager of Southern Company's engineering and construction services, and was followed by a panel discussion. Kitchens emphasized that the group's mission is to develop and refine industry best practices by capturing its members' wealth of knowledge (see box). The incoming PRBCUG chairman—Robert Taylor, safety and protection leader for American Electric Power—assumed his responsibilities at the close of the meeting.

Burn PRB coal? Improve your practices by joining the PRBCUG

If you missed this year's annual meeting of the Powder River Basin Coal Users' Group in Chicago, you'll have to wait until ELECTRIC POWER 2008, May 6-8 next year in Baltimore, to attend the next one. Of course, you could always join the group in the interim.

Among the benefits that membership affords are the chance to share lessons learned with your peers and the opportunity to join a subcommittee dealing with an issue dear to your heart (electrical classifications, fire protection and risk management, fuel handling, boiler performance and combustion, to name just a few). You'll also gain access to the PRBCUG's excellent web site (www.prbcoals.com). The site recently was redesigned and augmented with tons (pun intended) of very valuable information, such as a constantly updated database of plant consumption and a list of plants considering converting to PRB coal.

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