GE P&W FuelSolv - Opportunity Coal Slag Control at Lakeland McIntosh Unit #3 - Manual (Page 9)

Technical Paper Page 9
Coal
Spot Price
$/ton $/MMBtu
CAPP $80 $4.90
NAPP $65 $4.37
ILB $42 $3.58
Figure 18: Coal Cost Estimates
Figure 18 lists market spot prices for the three varie-
ties of coal. The cost per million BTU assumes a typ-
ical $40 per ton delivery charge, which can vary
based on contracts or utilities who own transporta-
tion infrastructure.
For a 50% CAPP / 50% opportunity fuel blend, pro-
jected savings will be between $10 and $20 million
per year, depending on whether the selected oppor-
tunity coal is a NAPP or ILB. Firing a 75% ILB blend,
the annual savings could increase to $30 million per
year, as shown in Figure 19.
Figure 19: Projected Annual Fuel Savings
Recall that Florida coal-fired utilities are competing
against low-cost natural gas units. Baseload dis-
patch orders are sent to the lowest cost producers
while higher cost generators are idled until needed.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) ex-
pects that Henry Hub (natural gas) spot prices will
continue to decline in 2012, averaging $3.70 per
MMBtu, (Figure 20). Natural gas prices may decline
further in the future, depending on Marcellus shale
gas production levels and industrial demand in the
Northeast. Note in Figure 18, ILB coal offers a very
competitive $/MMBtu against natural gas.
In conclusion, it is critical for coal-fired utilities to
understand the competitive power generation land-
scape, economics of various fuels, and opportunity
coal treatments to remain operational and con-
tinue contributing to US electricity production in
the future.
Figure 20: Natural Gas Spot Prices, $/MMBtu
(Source: Intelligence Press, intelligencepress.com)
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank and acknowledge
the following individuals and groups who helped
contribute to this project and make this trial a
success. Thank you to the American Coal Founda-
tion and Intelligence Press NGI for granting per-
mission to include their data in this paper.
Thank you to key Lakeland Electric trial team per-
sonnel including Linda Miller, James McArthur,
Brett Gailbreth, David Dodson, and Laura Jackson.
Thank you to Lakeland Electric former Plant Man-
ager Tony Candales for supporting the fuel evalu-
ation program. Thank you to the round-the-clock
efforts of the Lakeland Electric Operations,
Maintenance, Scrubber, Fuel and Environmental
Health and Safety teams as they blended coals,
monitored performance and insured safety and
compliance during the trial.
Thank you to the dedicated GE Water & Process
Technology team members including Account
Manager Tom McCafferty, Area Manager Ken Rici-
sak, and field expertise from Randy Schukay and
Ben Graves.
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