HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnergy Projects 1984 Appendix C-1Bethel Area Power Plan
Feasibility Assessment
APPENDIX C-1
COAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
DRAFT
Prepared for
Harza Engineering Company
and the
Alaska Power Authority
by
Marvin L.Feldman
Glenn R.Cass
of
Dames &Moore
San Francisco
Draft
April 1984
Chapter
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARYI.
Il.
IIl.
Iv.
COAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose
Scope
Major Assumptions
Summary of Coal Resources,Transportation
and End-Use Facilities
Results and Conclusions
RESOURCES AND REQUIREMENT
Alaskan Sources
Imported Coal Sources
Coal Requirements for Electrical
Generation and Space Heating
TRANSPORTATION OF COAL TO BETHEL
AND
COAL
SURROUNDING VILLAGES
Coal Transportation from Mine to Bethel
Coal Transportation from Bethel Dock to
Power Plant
Distribution of Coal for Space Heating
Requirements
Cost Analysis
Transportation of Coal from Bethel to
Surrounding Villages
FOR SPACE HEATING
Coal Space Heating for Residences
Coal Space Heating for Public and
Commercial Buildings
Estimated Capital and Operating Costs for
Coal-Fired Space Heating
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont'd)
Section
V.ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF COAL SUPPLY PLANS
Air Quality
Water Quality
Land Use
VI.ECONOMIC RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Results
Conclusions
REFERENCES
EXHIBITS
-ii-
LIST OF TABLES
Title
A Comparison of Purchase Cost and Quality
of Imported Coal Services for Bethel
Barge Costs for Service to Bethel --Dillingham
Maritime
Estimated Installed Cost of a Residential
Coal Stove
Coal Stove Emission Factors
Estimated Emission Rates Expected From
Coal-Fired Convection Stoves in
Bethel,Alaska
iii-
Page
II-6
III-2
LIST OF EXHIBITS
Title
Schematic Diagram of Proposed Coal Handling
and Distribution Systems in Bethel
Summary of Coal Costs by End-Use Category and Sources
Total Net Present Values of Coal Energy
Supply Plans for Selected Coal Sources
Physical and Economic Characteristics of
Alaskan Coal Occurrences
Demand Forecast of Coal Requirements by
Community
Proposed Coal Unloading System and Temporary
Stockpile at Petroleum Products Dock in
Bethel
Cost of Transporting Coal to Bethel by
Barge and Rail
Daily Lease Rates for Crowley Maritime
Tug and Barge Equipment
Capital Costs for Alternative A
Replacement Costs for Capital Equipment
and Expected Useful Life
Summary of Annual Equipment and Operator
Requirements for Alternative A
Annual Operating and Maintenance Costs
Levelized Annual Costs for Coal Trans-
portation within Bethel
Cost of Transporting Coal and Diesel
from Bethel to Surrounding Communities
Number of Residential,Public,and Commercial
Buildings in the Bethel Area
-iv-
LIST OF EXHIBITS (Cont'd)
Exhibit
No.Title
16 Capital and Operating Costs for Coal-Fired
Space Heating Systems
17 Alaska and National Ambient Air Quality Standards
18 Estimated Ambient Concentrations Under a Weak
Lapse Rate Due to Coal-Fire Convection Stoves in Bethel,
Alaska
--V-
Chapter I
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the technical,
economic and environmental feasibility of using coal to supply
part or all of the electrical generation and space heating needs
of the study area.*This information is developed as part oftheBethelAreaPowerPlan,a feasibility study conducted by
Harza Engineering Company and sponsored by the Alaska Power
Authority.
The economic component of the analysis will provide input
to one or more energy supply plans which are presented in the
Regional Report.This will allow an economic comparison of coal
energy supply plans with plans based on other energy sources.
An energy supply plan is defined as one or more energy supply
options which together meet a specified demand for electricity
and space heat.
Scope
The scope of this study includes analysis of:
1.Coal resources available to the study area.
2 Costs to mine and transport coal from source.
3.Conceptual design and cost of coal handling facilities
in Bethel.
4,Determination of end-use cost per ton of coal from
each of the identified coal sources.
5.Determination of the net present value of the costs of
the designated coal supply system over the life of the
project.
6.A preliminary assessment of the environmental impacts
and regulatory complexity of the proposed coal energy
supply plan(s).
*The study area comprises the City of Bethel plus 12 nearby
villages.
The cost analysis is economic rather than financial in
nature.This means that costs are determined without considera-
tion of the sources of revenue or ownership of capital facili-
ties.This economic analysis,therefore,indicates the total
cost to the State of Alaska and the citizens of the study areawithoutconsiderationofinstitutionalmechanismsor_ con-
straints.Once the energy supply plan with the lowest economic
cost is identified,the Alaska Power Authority can proceed to
detailed feasibility studies.
Major Assumptions
Specific assumptions appear throughout this study.For
convenience,the most basic economic and conceptual modeling
assumptions are listed below.
Economic Assumptions
Key economic assumptions are as follows:
l.Inflation rate:zero.
2.Inflation-free present value discount rate:3.5 per-
cent.
3.Project life:58 years.
4.Profit or rate of return on capital investment:zero.
Modeling Assumptions
Key modeling assumptions are as follows:
1.Coal supplies all of the area's electrical require-
ments by a central steam turbine power plant in Bethel
with interties to all twelve villages in the study
area.It was later found that it was not economically
feasible to intertie some villages (see Appendix E).
However,because of the small electrical requirements
of these villages,it would affect the total coal
demand by less than 1 percent,which is negligible.
2.Eighty percent of the space heating requirements are
met by direct combustion of coal.
3.The electrical and space heating requirements are
those specified by Darbyshire &Associates in their
report of 10/15/82.
4.Of approximately 87,000*tons per year required under
the above assumptions,23,000*tons per year are used
for electric generation,36,000*tons are sacked and
distributed for small space heat users,and an addi-
tional 38,000*tons are distributed in bulk for the
larger public and commercial buildings in Bethel.
Summary of Coal Resources,
Transportation and End-Use Facilities
Bethel is a deep water port offering sufficient draft for
ocean going barges.Therefore,coal sources for Bethel need not
be restricted to nearby sources.The cost to imine coal from the
existing Usibelli mine in Healy,Alaska and from 14 other unde-
veloped Alaskan sources,and the types and availability of coal,
are discussed in Chapter II.Chapter II also presents costs and
quality of coal from Utah,Powder River Basin,Vancouver,and
Prince Rupert.
Coal requirements for the study area total approximately
87,000*tons per year.Of this amount,23,000*would be re-
quired for electrical generation,and 64,000*tons for space
heating requirements (see Chapter II).
Coal from the mine source will be transported by barge to
Bethel.The petroleum products (resources)dock presently under
construction in Bethel can accommodate barges of up to 10,000
tons.However,for cost comparison purposes,6,900-ton barges
are assumed.The cost per ton carried varies with distance,
with costs ranging from $13 to $58 per ton.In a few cases,
Alaska coal occurrences are not accessible to deep water.In
these cases,500 to 2,000-ton barges are assumed,with costs
ranging to $60 per ton.
In addition to the barge costs,coal from Utah,Powder
River Basin,Usibelli and Broad Pass would require rail trans-
portation to tidewater.This adds from $15 to $44 per ton to
the transportation costs (see Chapter III).
Once coal is delivered to Bethel,it is unloaded at the new
petroleum products (resources)dock.Exhibit 1 shows the coal
handling facilities concept proposed for moving coal in Bethel.
Coal handling in Bethel is estimated to cost:
*Unless specified,requirement is expressed in terms of
10,000 Btu per pound ton equivalents.
Pier to power plant stockpile:$10.69/ton
Sacked 58.38/ton
Bulk distribution 8.08/ton
Power plant use 4.74/ton
Coal for the space heat in the villages would be distrib-
uted by the existing barge service provided by United Transpor-
tation.On a weighted average basis,this transportation link
would add $44.67 per ton to the cost of coal (see Chapter III).
Burning coal for space heating requires the purchase of
coal stoves or furnaces.All of the residences and most of the
commercial and public buildings could be heated by simple con-
vective coal stoves.The remaining medium size buildings and
primary schools would require central furnaces.A few larye
complexes in Bethel would require conversion of existing diesel-
fired boilers or large forced-air furnaces to coal (see Chap-
ter IV).
Results and Conclusions
The economic results of the analysis described above are
summarized in Exhibits 2 and 3.Derivation of these exhibits is
described in Chapter VI.
The ultimate economic attractiveness of a coal energy sup-
ply plan cannot be evaluated until the cost of the coal-fired
generation system is factored in.Then the coal energy supply
plan can be compared with alternative supply plans based on
other energy sources.However,on the basis of the information
developed to date,the following conclusions can be drawn:
1.It is technically and economically feasible to ship
coal to the Bethel area from as far away as Utah.
2.Capital investment requirements for developing a coal
handling infrastructure in Bethel total $3.4 million
(1982 dollars).
3.The net present value of capital equipment replacement
costs total $5.5 million (1982 dollars).
4.The capital investment required to replace the exist-
ing diesel space heating system with coal-fired equip-
ment is $26.0 million (1982 dollars).
These capital expenditures,plus the annual operation,
maintenance,and fuel purchase and transportation costs,result
in a net present value of $227 million (1982 dollars)for Cape
Beaufort coal,the least costly undeveloped coal occurrence.
Prince Rupert,the least costly developed source,has a net
present value of $318 million.These can be converted (see
Chapter III)to levelized annual costs of $9.5 and $13.3 million
(1982 dollars),respectively,for Utah and Cape Beaufort and
Prince Rupert coal-fired energy supply plans.
The cost of coal (including the levelized cost of capital
equipment and operation and maintenance)can be compared to the
cost of diesel fuel.Assuming Prince Rupert coal is used,costs
can be compared as follows:
Coal Diesel Assumed
Cost Per Ton Cost Per Ton Diesel
End-Use Equivalent Equivalent Cost (S$/gal.)
Power plant $92.55 $197.0 @$1.35
Sacked/Bethel 136.64 204.0 @s1.40
Sacked/villages 172.66 226.0 @S1.55
Bulk/Bethel 95.22 197.0 @$1.35
These cost comparisons indicate that coal is a much less
costly fuel than diesel,even when the high costs of transporta-
tion and sacking are included.However,these results are pre-
liminary.Again,final results must compare the net present
value of the coal system with its diesel counterpart,including
both capital and fuel costs.
Assuming that development of coal energy sources are indi-
cated,arrangements should be made to obtain a 5 to 10 year con-
tract for Prince Rupert or Utah coal,and for transportation of
that coal to Bethel.As the term of this contract draws to a
close,the imported coal's costs should be compared with the
least costly available Alaskan source.If the Alaskan source
proves more economical than the Prince Rupert coal (as this
report indicates it will),contracts can be negotiated to
convert to this local source coal.
Chapter II
COAL RESOURCES AND REQUIREMENT
Bethel offers sufficient draft for ocean-going barges of up
to 10,000 tons;therefore,coal for Bethel need not be restrict-
ed to nearby sources.This idea will be further developed in
Chapter III which discusses transportation modes.This section
evaluates all developed or potential coal sources for Bethel.
Alaskan sources,sources from the Lower 48 and Canada,and es-
timated Bethel coal requirements are discussed.
Alaskan Sources
With 1.9 trillion tons of indicated or inferred coal re-
serves,Alaska has the majority of the U.S.coal resources (1).
Only a tiny fraction of this potential resource has been
developed or is under active consideration for development.
Exhibit 4 summarizes the physical and economic characteristics
of Alaska coal resources.
Nenana District
The Nenana coal field extends for about 80 miles along the
north flank of the Alaska Range,between the headwaters of the
Wood River on the east and the Kantishna River on the west.
Tertiary coal-bearing rocks outcrop in a discontinuous belt
generally ranging from 1 to 30 miles in width.The rocks have
been folded and faulted into a series of basins,between which
they are either eroded away or covered by younyer Tertiary or
Quaternary deposits.The coal-bearing formations include a
large number of subbituminous coal beds,ranging from a few
inches to 60 feet in thickness.Total source figures based on a
detailed survey indicate approximately 6,940 million tons.
The structure of most of the individual basins is simple;
the beds are broken by a few faults and compressed into open
folds with moderate to low dips.At the east end of the Healy
creek basin nearly vertical to slightly overturned beds were
measured near the axis of a faulted syncline.
The Nenana coal field is served by the Alaska Railroad,
which follows the Nenana River across the center of the field.
Principal development and coal production to date has been on
Healy Creek,from an underground mine at Suntrana,and two strip
mines farther upstream.A strip mine was operated for a few
years during and after World War II on the western extension of
*Numbers in parentheses refer to references at the end of this
Appendix.
II-1
the same beds about 4 miles southwest of Healy.A strip mine
was opened in 1955 on Lignite Creek.All other parts of the
field are remote from present transportation and are
undeveloped.
The Usibelli mine near Healy is the only operating coal
mine in Alaska.This mine utilizes modern surface mining equip-
ment to produce about 800,000 tons per year for use mainly in
the Fairbanks area.Its subbituminous coal reserves are suffi-
cient for large-scale export contracts under future consider-
ation.Although no large scale exports have yet occurred,the
Usibelli mine apparently contains ample reserves to meet the
relatively small requirements of the Bethel area.
Under long-term contract,coal could be obtained from Usi-
belli for $28.35 per ton (2).The coal would be delivered by
rail to Seward,and then barged to Bethel (see Chapter III).
The analysis of the Usibelli coal is as follows:
Heat Content 7850 Btu/lb
Ash 6-7 percent
Sulphur 0.2 percent
Moisture 27 percent
Fixed carbon 36 percent
Volatiles 40 percent
Grindability 29-45 hargrove
Size 2 inch or smaller
The Beluga coal field northwest of Anchorage is being con-
sidered for development,either for methanol production or as a
large-scale (multi-million ton)port for export to Pacific Rim
countries.If Beluga is developed as a port,it would be an
inexpensive source for Bethel.
Bering River District
The City of Cordova is considering the feasibility of de-
veloping its nearby Bering River deposits.These coals are
bituminous to anthracite,but occur in highly folded beds which
will be expensive to mine.It is too early to accurately assess
whether these coals would be an attractive source for Bethel.
Apart from the Usibelli mine,and possibly Beluga,no Alas-
kan coal sources will be available for Bethel use for at least
ten years.Ten years is the minimum lead-time necessary to
conduct feasibility studies,prepare a mine plan,acquire
title,obtain the necessary permits,and bring the mine into
production.
II-2
The following briefly discusses some considerations for
development of Alaska coal occurrences,in order of decreasing
attractiveness for use in Bethel.
Cape Beaufort/Corwin Bluff District
Coal-bearing Cretaceous rocks are known or inferred to
underlie this area.These rocks,consisting mainly of alternat-
ing layers of sandstone and shale,have been folded into east-
ward-trending anticlines and synclines.Because of differences
in resistance of the rocks to erosion,the folds are expressed
topographically by the general east-west alignment of the ridges
and valleys.Near the mountains the folding and faulting has
been more intense,and in places the strata stand nearly
vertical.In the northern foothills,which include the
southernmost coal-bearing rocks,deformation has been only
moderate.Farther north under the Coastal plain the beds are
nearly horizontal.Far to the west,along the coast south of
Cape Lisburne,bituminous coal is exposed in several places in
strongly folded and faulted Mississippian rocks.
Cape Beaufort/Corwin Bluff District coals are attractive
for use in Bethel because of their high quality and proximity to
tidewater.Reconnaissance exploration is underway this summer
by the Alaska Geological Survey to determine the extent and
mineability of these coals.Assuming that these occurrences
prove promising,these coals could be mined not only for Bethel,
but also for the cities of Kotzebue,Nome,Wainwright,Dilling-
ham and Barrow.
A mine of several hundred thousand tons per year in this
area could provide coal for Bethel at a very reasonable price.
Even at a scale of mining of 80,000 tons per year,suitable for
one or two of the above cities,coal could possibly be econo-
mically mined.Stefano &Associates,in connection with APA's
Kotzebue District Heating Study (3),developed the following
preliminary estimates for opening an 80,000 tons per year mine
at Cape Beaufort:
$/ton
Mine development &camp facilities $11.87
Road construction at mine 7.87
Construction of trans-loading and/or quay 2.10
Mining,hauling,loading 27.27
Royalty 1.00
TOTAL Cost F.O.B.Mine $50.11
II-3
To be conservative,the estimated cost (F.O.B.mine)used in
this report is $60.00 per ton.Because of ice conditions,the
shipping season for Cape Beaufort coals is limited to the three
to four month summer season.
Alaska Peninsula
Although of lower rank,the Herendeen Bay and Chignik coal
fields are attractive because of their fairly good quality and
access to tidewater.Like the Cape Beaufort coals,however,
these occurrences have the disadvantage of remote locations.In
addition,very little is known about the mineability of these
coals,apart from the fact that they occur in reasonably thick
beds.
Chicago Creek Area
Significant coal deposits (late Cretaceous age)are known
on the Kugruk River,about 15 miles west of Candle,where coal
beds have been opened on the river about 4 miles south of
Chicago Creek,and on Chicago Creek about a mile above its
mouth.These coals are unattractive because of both their low
rank and their shallow draft access.
Kobuk River Area
Coal-bearing rocks that are probably Late Cretaceous occur
at several widely scattered localities in a belt that extends
along the Kobuk River and eastward to the headwaters of the
Koyukuk river.The westernmost locality is on the north side of
the Kobuk between Trinity creek and the Kallarichuk river,where
several thin coal beds,only a few of which are as much a 2 feet
thick,are exposed in the river bluffs.Some of this coal was
mined for use in the nearby placer gold fields.An analysis of
a coal sample from this locality indicates that it is on the
borderline between subbituminous and bituminous.Other reported
coal localities in the Kobuk basin are on the Hunt,lower
Ambler,and Kogoluktuk Rivers,and in the Lockwood Hills near
the Pah River.
Other Alaskan Sources
The Matanuska coals were developed for use in the Anchorage
area,primarily at Elmendorf Air Force Base.This mine is now
closed.For Bethel use,these coals would require transport by
truck to the Port of Anchorage.At present,Anchorage has no
coal handling facilities,although development of such facili-
ties is being considered by the Alaska Railroad.
II-4
Despite their high quality,Nulato and Flat District coals
are infeasible due to high transportation costs since they would
be carried by shallow draft river barges of 500 tons or less.
Similarly,because of transportation considerations,development
of coal from the North Slope is very unlikely despite its very
large extent.
Coals from Broad Pass,Chignik and Susitna are impractical
for use in Bethel because of their low rank.Coals from Nunivak
and Nelson Islands are unsuitable for Bethel because of their
questionable mineability,apparently small resources,and prob-
able difficulties with land status.
Imported Coal Sources
Four major coal sources on the West Coast of the Lower 48
and Canada are:Utah,Powder River Basin (Wyoming/Montana),and
Prince Rupert and Vancouver,B.C.(Roberts Bank).Each source
could supply commercial quality thermal coal to a major port
city for shipment to Bethel.Bethel's requirements are but a
small fraction of the millions of tons these sources produce
annually.The relative attractiveness of these coals for Bethel
depends,therefore,on their quality,their cost F.0O.B.the
mine,and their transportation costs.The latter factors are
discussed in Chapters III and IV.The cost and quality of the
four imported coals are compared in Table II-l.
From Table II-l,it is apparent that any of these coals is
of adequate quality for electrical generation.The Powder River
Basin coal's relatively lower heat content is a disadvantage for
space heating.As discussed in Chapters III and IV,this dis-
advantage more than offsets the advantage of its relatively low
cost F.O.B.mine.Utah coal and the B.C.coals are available in
washed form (size 1-5/8 x 3/8 inches).This is an advantage in
reducing coal dust nuisance and possible water pollution pro-
blems (see Chapter V).
Coal Requirements for
Electrical Generation and Space Heating
Coal can be used effectively to meet some or all of the
electrical and space heating needs of Bethel and the surroundingvillages.Under alternative supply plans,different amounts of
coal would be used.However,to bracket the maximum amount of
coal required for the Bethel area,the entire projected energy
requirements for electricity and space heating were converted to
ton-equivalents of coal.The coal requirement by community is
summarized on Exhibit 5.
TI-5
Table II-1
A COMPARISON OF PURCHASE COST
AND QUALITY OF IMPORTED COAL SERVICES FOR BETHEL
Prince
Powder River Vancouver Rupert
Utah Coal Basin Coal Coal Coal
Cost FOB mine $34.00 $12.00 $7.30 --
($per ton)
Rank Bituminous Subbituminous Bituminous Bituminous
Heat Content 12,400 9,300 11,000 12,400
(Btu's per pound)
Ash (percent)7 3.6 16.0 15.00
Sulphur (percent)0.7 0.3 0.25 0.4
Moisture (percent)7.0 24.5 10.0 1.2
Fixed Carbon (percent)46.0 40.0 55.50-58.5 61.00
Volatiles (percent)42.0 31.8 24.00-29.00 22.5
Grindability (Hargrove)45 N.A.N.A.85
Size (inches)1-5/8 x 3/16 1-5/8 x 0 2.0 x 0 1/8x2
For convenience,all tonnages are expressed on a 10,000 Btu
per pound basis,since different coals have different heat va-
lues.To determine the actual tonnages of a particular coal,
multiply the indicated tonnage by a heat content factor of
10,000 divided by the Btu's per pound of the coal in question.
For example,Cape Beaufort coal has a heat content of 13,000
Btu's per pound.The heat content factor is thus:
Heat Content Factor =10,000 =0.7692
13,000
Thus,in 2002,the City of Bethel requires:53,660 x 0.7692 =
41,275 tons of Cape Beaufort coal to satisfy its space heating
requirements (see Exhibit 5).
II-6
In several of the supply plans,coal-fired steam turbines
provide hot water for district heating.However,on Exhibit 5,
the heat and electrical demand were treated independently.To
calculate the coal needed for electrical generation,the esti-
iated electrical requirements will be met by a coal-fired gene-
rator with an assumed ultimate efficiency of 27 percent.This
assumes a conversion efficiency of 33 percent at the power
plant,with an additional 6 percent of the coal energy,or 18
percent of the electrical energy,lost in transmission and
distribution.
In converting space heating requirements to coal,it is
assumed that coal is burned with the identical efficiency as
existing space heating devices.This is conservative in that
coal stoves regularly operate with combustion efficiencies in
excess of the most commonly used existing stove oil furnaces.
As seen on Exhibit 5,the vast majority of energy is used
for space heating rather than electric generation (about 64,000
tons per year for 80 percent coal space heat versus about 23,000
tons for electrical generation).Of the 64,000 tons per year
used for 80 percent of the space heating,54,000 tons are used
in the City of Bethel,with the remaining 10,000 tons used in
the villages.All electricity generation from coal is presumed
to be generated within Bethel,because village-scale electric
generation using coal is not economically feasible.Central
generation in Bethel for the electrical requirements of all
areas presumes that the villages will be intertied by an elec-
tric grid.
II-7
Chapter III
TRANSPORTATION OF COAL TO BETHEL AND SURROUNDING VILLAGES
The economic attractiveness of coal as an alternative fuel
source for Bethel depends as much on transportation costs to the
point of use as it does on the cost at its source.The trans-
portation system can be divided into three components:
1.From the mine to Bethel
2.Coal transportation within Bethel
3.Coal transportation to surrounding villages
These three components are discussed below.
Coal Transportation from Mine to Bethel
Bethel is favorably situated with respect to marine trans-
portation.Its ability to handle oceangoing barge traffic up to
12-foot draft has made Bethel a major regional shipping center,
with fuel and general cargo service to more than 50 communities
on the Kuskokwim River and the nearby Bering Sea coast.
Crowley Maritime and Foss Navigation each have three regu-
larly scheduled barges per year with a combined tonnage of be-
tween 75,000 and 11,000 tons per year,about half of which is
bulk petroleum shipments (4).These annual tonnages make Bethel
the largest port in southwest Alaska.The port and harbor
facilities,especially with the new petroleum resources dock
currently under construction (see Exhibit 6),place Bethel in an
excellent position to receive and distribute coal shipments,if
coal proves to be an economical energy source.
On the basis of correspondence with Crowley and Foss,it is
concluded that open existing oceangoing barges containing up to
10,000 tons of coal could be safely and economically landed at
Bethel.This relatively high tonnage is important because it
makes coal importation from any western Lower 48 or Canadian
source a viable option.Costs to transport coal from Alaska,
Canadian,and Lower 48 sources are summarized on Exhibit 7.
Crowley Maritime (5)provided the daily rates shown on
Exhibit 8.These data indicate that although day rates increase
with tonnage capacity,the cost per ton decreases.Thus,larger
tug/barge combinations are decidedly more economical than
smaller ones.The cost per ton for various trip lengths ranges
from $9.80 for a 250-mile haul distance (e.g.,Nelson Island)to
$53.00 for 3,170 miles (e.g.,Long Beach,California),assuming
III-1
a 6,900-ton barge.Note that these costs assume that the
equipment is available and can be used in other service during
periods closed to navigation.Note also that no allowance is
made for annual mobilization,which would be an added cost for
any service from sources north of Anchorage.
A second set of barge cost data,obtained from Dillingham
Maritime,a subsidiary of Foss,is presented in Table III-1:
Table III-1
BARGE COSTS FOR SERVICE TO BETHEL --DILLINGHAM MARITIME
Duration of R-T
Origin Voyage (Days)Cost Per Ton,$
Los Angeles 35 59
Portland 23 39
Vancouver 22 35
Seward/Whittier 16 23
Unalakleet il 17
Anchorage 16.5 26
Herendeen Bay 7.5 li
Sources (6)
Except as noted,the costs indicated on Exhibit 7 are based
on an average of the costs for 6,900-ton equipment from Exhib-
it 8 and Table III-l.For all undeveloped coal sources except
Usibelli,Powder River,Utah,and Vancouver,access for the
indicated size oceangoing barge is assumed,except where marine
charts indicate shallow surrounding waters.
Exceptions include barge costs for Vancouver,Kuskokwim,
Unalakleet,and Nulato coals.Vancouver barge costs are based
on costs obtained from Sea Span (7)and include a $2.00 per ton
loading charge at Roberts'Bank.Costs for Kuskokwim and
Unalakleet coals assume that port facilities and draft limita-
tion restrict barge size to 3,000 tons.For WNulato coals,a
500-ton river barge would be needed to navigate the Iditarod
River.Costs for such barges are developed in Dames &Moore,
1981 (8).
Coal from Utah,Usibelli,Powder River and Broad Pass would
require rail transportation from mine to tidewater.Matanuska
III-2
would require transportation by truck from the mine to the port
of Anchorage at an estimated cost of $15.00 per ton (see Exhibit
7).Powder River coal would move some 1100 miles over Bur-
lington Northern Lines at a cost of $42.00 per ton (9).There
would be a $2.00 per ton tipping fee at Portland.(New coal
loading facilities are under construction at Portland).Coal
from Utah would be shipped 850 miles by rail to the existing
coal loading facilities at Long Beach at a cost of $25.00 per
ton for shipping,tipping,and loading.
Coal from the Usibelli Mine and Broad Pass would be shipped
via the Alaska Railroad at Seward or to the proposed coal han-
dling facility at Whittier.The current rail tarriff is $12.60
per ton (10)Tipping and handling charges would be about $8.50
per ton (ll).These charges might prove lower at the proposed
Whittier facility.
Coal Transporation from
Bethel Dock to Power Plant
Once the coal barges arrive at Bethel,the coal most be
unloaded and transported to the proposed coal-fired power plant
site.At the power plant site (assumed to be located at the
site of the existing diesel plant),the coal will be used either
for electrical generation (8 Megawatts)or distributed for space
heating.The entire proposed coal handling system is diagrammed
on Exhibit 1.
The petroleum products dock currently under construction
(see Exhibit 6)is suitable for unloading coal with few modifi-
cations,according to Harold Galliet,its designer.Use of this
dock avoids the congestion prevailing at Bethel's general cargo
dock.However,use of the petroleum dock requires rapid unload-
ing of the barge to avoid conflicts with the petroleum barge
operations.According to Dan Boyette,Bethel's City Engineer,
petroleum loading and unloading operations utilize about 70 to
80 percent of the available docking time during the 5-month ice-
free shipping season.
As a first approximation,coal handling facilities dis-
cussed in this section are designed to provide coal for all of
the study area's electrical generation and 80 percent of the
space heating requirements.These requirements,as shown on
Exhibit 5,total about 87,000 tons per year (in year 2002)and
are broken down as follows:a central coal-fired power plant in
Bethel will require about 23,000 tons per year;bulk coal
deliveries to non-residential buildings in Bethel will require
some 38,000 tons per year;and residences in Bethel and all
space heating needs in the villages will require 26,000 tons per
III-3
year.The latter category is assumed to use coal in 100-pound
sacks.Costs for each of these uses are calculated separately.
Fixed and variable costs are distinguished to permit costs for
other tonnages to be estimated.
Selection of Coal Unloading Equipment
Dames &Moore's initial evaluation included three alterna-
tive coal unloading scenarios,identified as follows:
Alternative A:Unload barges with a Manitowoc Model 3900
Vicon crawler crane with a six-cubic-yard
clam bucket and an average unloading rate
of 273 tons/hour,or equivalent.
Alternative B:Unload barges with a Paceco stationary
crane permanently mounted to the mooring
and capable of handling an average of 500
tons per hour,or equivalent.
Alternative C:Use of a self-unloading barge,designated
for coal unloading use and custom-designed
with a hopper and self-enclosed conveyor
with 400 tons/hour average feed rate.
Alternative A has the lowest capital cost of the three
systems,with crane costs estimated at $500,000 (F.O.B.Wiscon-
sin)for the Manitowoc 3900 Vicon crawler-type crane (12).
Costs of the Erie Strayer 6-cubic-yard clam bucket plus one
spare are $20,000 each (12).Operating time for this crane
system is 13.3 days/year,based on a 24-hour/day operating
schedule.
Capital expenditures for Alternative B are substantially
higher,although the annual operating time of the Paceco sta-
tionary crane is 7.3 days.Capital costs of the crane and
single clam shell are estimated to be about $2 million F.O.B.
Wisconsin (13).
Capital costs of the Alternative C self-unloading barge
with conveyor system are estimated at over $3 million,excluding
the costs of the designated barge (14,15).Operating time for
the Alternative C barge conveyor system is estimated at 9.1 days
annually.
Since maintenance and insurance costs are estimated as a
percentage of capital cost and are a constant percentage for the
three alternatives,Alternative A has the lowest expected cost.
Net savings in barge standby time for Alternatives B and C do
III-4
not justify the additional capital costs of these two alterna-
tives.Therefore,only Alternative A has been considered for
further evaluation.
Moving the Coal from Barge to Power Plant
A small dozer (Caterpiller D-6,or equal)would be used on
the barge to move coal for clam bucket pickup.Operating time
for this dozer is estimated to be 310 hours/year based on an
average annual tonnage of 87,000 and a barge size of 10,000
tons.
Due to the need to minimize tie-up of the petroleum dock,
unloading coal directly to haul trucks on the pier is infeasi-
ble.Unloading in this manner would require a large number of
vehicles to handle the expected feed rates and to make the esti-
mated 5,800 annual truck trips from the pier to the plant,with-
out causing excessive barge tie-up time.To avoid this problem
it is proposed that coal be fed through a pier-mounted hopper
(surge-bin)to a conveyor leading to an on-shore temporary
stockpile area,an estimated distance of about 300 feet.A
seven-acre parcel of land adjacent to the upriver side of the
pier is being acquired as a staging area for the dock.A four-
acre portion of this area would be ideally suited for use as a
temporary coal storage area.The storage pile would then be
gradually transported to the permanent storage area adjacent to
the power plant.To control airborne dust in the temporary
stockpile,the coal would be washed down periodically,and run-
off from the pile would be diverted by low earth berms to a
small settling pond to prevent coal dust from entering the
river.
A front-end loader (Caterpillar 977 with 10-cubic-yard
bucket,or equal)is needed to load coal onto a 20-ton truck for
hauling to the power plant.At the plant,a small dozer (Cater-
pillar D-6,or equal)is required to compact the coal and push
it into a payload hopper elevator for use in the plant.Dozer
operations at the plant during temporary stockpiling are ex-
pected to take 930 hours per year.At a 70 percent load factor
and 1.8 tons/load capacity,the front-end loader will operate
1,450 hours annually to load coal for shipment to the power
plant.The power plant stockpile,together with distribution
and handling operations,will occupy an area of about 6 acres.
Conveyor construction would consist of a 36-inch deep truss
and a 30-to 36-inch wide belt.Supports would run about 40
feet on center for the horizontal conveyor run.Thirty-two
timber piles are expected to be needed:2 per truss and 8 each
for the front and back-end terminals.Cost per pile is
estimated at $15/foot installed with a typical length of 30 feet
IITI-5
each,for a total of $14,400.Estimated motor size is 150
horsepower.Three workers are anticipated per shift for running
the conveyor:one at each hopper (terminal),and one for main-
tenance,cleanup of fallen coal,etc.
Based on the Bureau of Mines'projected average loading and
waiting times (16)and a travel rate of 15 mph,each vehicle's
roundtrip time to the plant,a distance of about 2 miles,is
estimated at .267 hours.To adjust for lower efficiencies than
projected by the Bureau of Mines and inclement weather condi-
tions,the average roundtrip time per 20-ton truck to the plant
is estimated at one-half hour.
Distribution of Coal
for Space Heating Requirements
From the plant storage area,coal will be distributed in
bulk loads to large commercial and institutional users,and in
100-pound sacks loaded 20 to a pallet for barging customers.
Annual tonnages are estimated at 38,000 tons for bulk delivery,
23,000 tons for plant usage,and 26,000 tons for sack delivery.
Bulk deliveries from the plant stockpile will be made by the
two 20-ton dump trucks when not in use transporting coal from
the pier to the plant.Once loading operations are completed at
the temporary pier stockpile area,the plant site for loading
will be either driven or hauled on a flat-bed truck to the plant
site for loading of the trucks.Front-end loader operations at
the plant site are estimated to take 507 hours for truck loading
and 347 hours for loading a bag feed device (surge hopper).
One-hundred pound burlap sacks will be filled from a feed-
hopper and loaded by hand onto 4-foot by 4-foot wooden pallets.
These pallets will be loaded by a fork-lift onto flat-bed trucks
for delivery to Bethel's existing cargo dock and to local small-
er customers.Each truck is estimated to carry 10 pallets of 20
sacks each.
Average roundtrip length is estimated at 2.5 miles and will
require about 10 minutes travel time,10 minutes to load,and 20
minutes to unload.Allowing for delays and rest periods,each
truck can deliver an average 80 pallets,or 120-bulk tons,in an
8-hour workday.Operation times for trucking are estimated at
2,600 hours and 2,533 hours annually for the flat-bed and dump
trucks,respectively.
Cost Analysis
Assumptions
In determining operating costs,the following assumptions
were made:
III-6
Average cycle time for the Manitowoc Model 3900 Vicon
crawler crane with 6 cubic yard bucket is 45 seconds.
Average operating time of cranes is estimated at 50
minutes per hour.
The bucket fill factor is estimated at 70 percent.
Haul truck capacity is 15 tons because of axle load
limits.
Of the estimated 87,000-ton annual coal consumption,
77,000 tons are needed in Bethel and 10,000 tons are
for use in outlying villages.An estimated 26,000
tons annually will be sacked and placed on pallets for
shipment to local small users and to surrounding vil-
lages.About 38,000 tons will be delivered in bulk
from the plant storage area to large commercial and
institutional users in Bethel.The remaining 23,000
tons will be used at the plant.
Average crane life is 7 years.
Average truck life is 8 years.
Average conveyor life is 1-6 months for initial belts,
2-5 years thereafter for rollers,drive heads,belting
and idlers,and 20 years for conveyor structure.
Motor fuel costs $1.75 per gallon.
Annual fuel usage and cost for gasoline engines is
0.067 gallons per horsepower--hour.
Annual fuel usage and cost for diesel engines is 0.058
gallons per horsepower-hour.
Annual fuel usage and cost for electric motors is
$0.11 per horsepower-hour.
Labor rates of operational employees include:
$50/hour-foreman;$29/hour -assistant foreman;
$20/hour -clerical;$28/hour -crane and heavy equip-
ment operations;$25/hour -laborers;and $23/hour -
truck drivers,based on hourly wage scales published
by McGraw Hill for Anchorage (17),and Dames &Moore's
estimates.
III-7
The Bureau of Mines Report 14677 (16)estimates that main-
tenance and insurance each cost two percent of capital costs for
various coal transportation means,including conveyor,trucking,
and barge transport.Because these percentages represent Lower
48 State values,maintenance costs have been escalated to four
percent for our evaluation while insurance costs have been pro-
jected at two percent.
Capital Investment in Coal Handling
In addition to the cost (plus equipment)for the crawler
crane,capital investments for a conveyor system and for mobile
equipment are required.These costs are summarized on Exhibit 9
and discussed below.
Total capital investment for the coal conveyor between the
pier and on-shore stockpile is estimated at about $2.11 million/
mile of conveyor based on published data from the Bureau of
Mines (16).Escalated from 1976 to 1982 dollars at an index of
3.41 (18)and further escalated by a factor of 1.69 to reflect
the increase in labor rate in Alaska versus the Lower 48,the
capital investment for the 300-foot conveyor system is estimated
at $0.69 million.To supplement the Bureau of Mines data,
estimates were obtained from Tabor Mining Manufacturing Company
(19)for a typical coal conveyor system.Material costs were
estimated as follows:
-belting:$20/lineal ft.x 300 ft.=$6,000
-rollers:$170/fevery 2 lineal ft.x 300 ft.=$25,500
-Two front-end and back-end stackers:$10-15,000/each
-36"deep truss:$11,000/100 ft.span (3 needed)
-timber piles:$15/lineal ft.x 30 ft./fea.x 32 piles
=$14,400 (labor and material costs)
-$0.819 million capital costs every 20 years.
-$13,200 excess maintenance costs in first year for
belt replacement.
-$69,300 excess maintenance costs every third year for
belt,roller,and idler replacement.
For a 150-horsepower conveyor motor,electric consumption
was projected at $.15/kilowatt-hour and 310 operating hours per
year for a total annual fuel cost of about $5,115.
III-8
Capital costs of the two (2)D-6 Caterpillar dozers are
estimated at $150,000 each F.O.B.Anchorage (20).Capital costs
of the Caterpiller 977 front-end loader are estimated at
$190,000 F.O.B.Anchorage (20).Costs of a 20-ton truck were
estimated to range between $96,500 to $106,200 F.O.B.Anchorage
based on U.S.Bureau of Mines data (16)escalated to 1982 dol-
lars using a Bureau of Labor Statistics equipment price index of
1.93 (21).Costs of a flat-bed truck are similarly estimated at
$100,000 F.O.B.Anchorage.
Shipping costs have been estimated at 5 percent of capital
material costs for shipments F.O.B.Anchorage to Bethel and at
10 percent of capital material costs for those items F.O.B.the
Lower 48.An additional capital investment of $0.5 million has
been estimated to cover road and dock improvements.
Capital Replacement Costs
The schedule for replacement of capital equipment is shown
on Exhibit 10.The equipment replacement is based on a normal
industrial-use life expectancy for the listed equipment,rather
than on the extent to which the equipment is utilized.Since
much of the equipment,most notably the conveyor system,is
utilized to only a fraction of its capacity,these calculations
yield a conservatively high estimate of the cost for capital
replacement.
To compute the levelized annual cost of capital replace-
ment,first the present value of the future expenditures was
calculated.Then this present value was converted to an annualannuitypayment.This process is described later in this Chap-
ter.The net present value of equipment replacement totals $5.5
million (1982).This results in levelized annual payments of
$148,500;$31,600;$20,800;and $15,600 for dock,sacking,bulk
delivery and power plant equipment.
Operation and Maintenance Costs
Since operation of the coal-unloading facility could be
completed by a different contractor from the power plant,over-
head and administrative costs have been included in the annual
operating costs.Labor,maintenance,insurance and fuel costs
have been escalated by 27-1/4 percent to cover overhead andadministrativecharges.No profitis included in the analysis.
A summary of annual equipment and operator requirements for
facility operation is presented on Exhibit 11.Annual manhours
have been escalated by 25 percent to account for downtime during
equipment maintenance and/or delivery delays.The cost of
III-9
operator labor,fuel,consumables,maintenance insurance and
administrative labor is summarized on Exhibit 12.
Levelized Costs
To obtain a levelized annual cost per ton for coal handling
equipment,costs incurred in the future for replacement of capi-
tal equipment were reduced to their net present value using the
formula:
k .
PVcapital &replacement cost Yo?|l C3/(1+i)Jj=where:
Vo =the initial capital expenditure
C.=the replacement cost expenditure in year_j75(see previous section for summary of replacementcos
i =3.5%real discount rate
k =the economic life of the project (58 years)
(Underlying inflation rate is zero)
Once the capital costs have been converted to their level-
ized annual equivalents,they can be added to the annual opera-
tion and maintenance cost from Exhibit 12.Exhibit 13 shows the
resulting levelized annual costs.Fixed costs,defined as costs
independent of tonnage handled,are shown separately from va-
riable costs to accurately reflect the cost of handling coal
from different sources.(As previously noted,different ton-
nages are required to achieve the same end-use energy require-
ments from coals with differing heat contents).Exhibit 13 also
segregates costs of coal for electric generation,for bulk deli-
veries,and for sacked coal.
Finally,the nominal tonnage requirements (using 10,000
Btu/pound)of 26,000 tons per year for sacking,38,000 tons per
year for bulk delivery and 23,000 tons per year for electricgenerationwereusedtoobtainanominalcostpertonineach
coal form.These are:
Pier to power plant stockpile:$10.69/ton
Sacked 58.38/ton
Bulk 8.08/ton
Power plant use 4.74/ton
The costs from pier to power plant stockpile should be added to
the last three costs to obtain the total handling costs (e.g.,
$69.05 from barge to sacks).
III-10
Note that the following costs have not been included:
-cost of acquistion of right-of-way for the conveyor or
lease costs of land;
-cost of acquisition of stockpile site or lease of
land;
-barge stand-by costs (these are included in landed
cost of coal);
-tax expenses;
-salvage value (assumed to be equal to the cost of
disposal).
Transportation of Coal fromBetheltoSurroundingVillages
As noted previously,Bethel is already the transportation
center for the communities along the Kuskokwim River and the
nearby Bering Sea coast.Although the study area includes only
12 of the 50 communities served from Bethel,there is no reason
why all 50 communities cannot receive coal from Bethel,just as
they currently receive petroleum products.However,this ana-
lysis presents capacities only for Bethel and the 12 villages in
the study area.
United Transportation is the major barge operator for dis-
tibution from Bethel to surrounding communities.It operates
from the general cargo dock on Brown's Slough in Bethel,using
500-ton barges with bulk petroleum tanks,as well as general
cargo (break-bulk)capacities.
United Transportation (22)indicated that they would have
little difficulty in handling sacked coal if it were shipped on
pallets.Palletized coal could probably be off-loaded more
quickly than bulk petroleum shipments,especially in villageswherethetanksarea"long hose pull"from the barge docking
site.Based on existing rates for bulk shipments,United
provided the data contained on Exhibit 14.For comparison,thecostofbulkdieselshipmentonagallonat10,000 Btu/pound
coal equipment basis are shown on this exhibit.
Exhibit 14 shows that shipping costs for moving a ton of
coal (one 20-sack pallet)to the villages would range between
$24.00 and $57.00.The cost range is roughly proportional to
distance.Diesel fuel transportation,by comparison,is lessdependentondistance.Thus,for such nearby communities as
Napaskiak and Oscarville,transporting an amount of diesel
III-11
energy equivalent to a ton of coal (10,000 Btu/pound)is more
costly than shipping coal,while for distant villages,diesel is
cheaper.Using higher heat value coal (14,000 Btu/pound)makes
coal shipment more economical even for distances of up to 25
miles.
A weighted average transportation cost can be calculated by
multiplying the coal transportation costs shown on Exhibit 14 by
the tonnages shown on Exhibit 5,summing the products,then
dividing by the total tonnage.This averages out to $44.67 per
ton.
In the villages,coal could be stored on fairly well-
drained land.As with oil,coal for the winter would have to be
stockpiled during the summer navigation.Since no special faci-
lities are needed,as much coal as is desired could be stored,
unlike oil storage which is limited by tank availability.
For distribution within the villages,coal sacks can be
moved to buildings by snow machine sled in much the same way as
drums of diesel are now moved.Empty pallets and possibly sacks
could be returned to Bethel for re-use.
III-12
Chapter IV
COAL FOR SPACE HEATING
In this section,the costs of converting the space heating
facilities in the Bethel area to coal are estimated,and some
considerations for coal use are briefly discussed.In addition
to direct combustion space heating,coal can be used in district
heating or cogeneration systems;however,such systems are dis-
cussed with electrical generation.This section is restricted
to direct combustion space heating.Residential space heat,and
space heat for public or commercial buildings,are discussed.
Capital costs for coal-fired space heating are also presented.
Coal Space Heating for Residences
Modern design coal stoves are highly efficient,clean burn-
ing,and safe.They offer an economical alternative to the
existing diesel-fired stoves currently in use.However,despite
the long burning time and even self-stoking features which are
available on some stoves,they require more attention than die-
sel stoves.
The majority of the residences in the Bethel area use a
single convective heat source rather than a central furnace with
a distribution system,such as forced hot air.This simpler
single-source system is more functional because most homes have
an open floor plan,with smaller rooms opening onto a larger
central room.In almost all cases,the heat source is a stove-
oil (diesel)convective furnace.Some households have both wood
stoves and stove-oil furnaces and use the wood stove during the
day to save money.
Bethel residents can easily convert to coal heating by
replacing their stove-oil furnaces with simple coal stoves con-
sisting of a cast iron or fire brick-lined fire box,a grate,
and an ash box.The flue is usually thermostatically controlled
to permit long-buring time and adjustable heat output.Modern
coal stoves are completely airtight with the draft designed to
provide air for combustion of the hot coals as well as the vola-
tile gases.
An adequately sized stove should need stoking only twice a
day.During stoking,the ashes and clinkers are removed from
the ash box and a new charge of coal is added.Sufficient hot
coals should remain so that there is no need to relight the
stove.Coal,in 100 pound sacks,would be obtained from the
central stockpile about as often as a drum of diesel fuel is
Iv-1
needed.(Five to seven sacks of coal equal 55 gallons of
diesel.)*In the villages,the sacks would be moved by snow-
machine sled;in Bethel,they could be delivered by truck.The
coal sacks could be stored under or beside the house and brought
in by bucket as needed.
While not as convenient as diesel stoves,which need atten-
tion only every few days,the inconvenience of coal-burning
stoves is minimal.People who are used to wood fuel,which
requires cutting and frequent stoking,will probably accept the
minimal inconvenience in exchange for lower heating bills.
Coal could augment wood by stoking the wood stove with one
part coal to three or four parts wood.Using straight coal in
stoves designed for wood could produce a dangerous leak of car-
bon monoxide into the house.Furthermore,coal produces more
intense heat and could burn out a wood firebox or corrode metal
chimneys designed only for wood.
To install a coal stove,the existing diesel stove chimney
would be replaced by a specially designed,prefabricated,
insulated coal-stove chimney made of special heat and corrosion
resistant sheet metal surrounded by insulation and an outer
sheet metal layer.Where the chimney passes through the ceiling
a hoist shield is needed.At the roof,a flashing roof assembly
is required.The chimney is capped with a ""round-top"to
prevent rain or down-drafts from entering the chimney.
Most of the modern design coal stoves are manufactured in
Europe where coal is used extensively for home heating.These
stoves are available for less than $1,000.For example,the
West German Budarus-Juno stove,which produces up to 52,000
Btu's/hour,is available in Anchorage for $650,complete with
thermostat and metal floor pan.Group orders could significant-
ly reduce this price.The installed cost of residential coal
stoves is estimated to be $1,200 as illustrated in Table IV-l.
*At 10,000 BTU's/pound,seven sacks equal one drum,while at
14,000 BTU/pound,five sacks equal one drum.
IV-2
Table IV-1l
ESTIMATED INSTALLED COST OF A RESIDENTIAL COAL STOVE
Stove (Delivered)$700
Chimney and Hardware 400
Installation (4 hours @ $25/hour)100
$1,200
Coal Space Heating
for Public and Commercial Buildings
The applicability and cost of converting public and commer-
cial buildings to coal-fired space heating depend on the size
and configuration of the building involved.In the Bethel area,
these buildings range from single rooms (e.g.,village post
offices and clinics,small stores in Bethel)to large office
complexes (like the BNC Complex or PHS Hospital in Bethel).
It is beyond the scope of this study to assess the specific
heating systems and costs for conversion for each building.
Therefore,as a first approximation,the existing stock of
public and commercial buildings are grouped into three types as
follows:
Type I -Single-room structures (less than 1,000 squarefeet)which are presently heated by a single convective
stove-oil furnace such as those used in residences.
Type II -Larger multi-room buildings (such as large storesandvillageschools)which are presently heated by central
forced-air furnaces.
Type III -Large buildings or complexes which are heated byboiler-type systems or large-scale forced-air furnaces.
Of the estimated 332 commercial and public buildings in the
study area,219 are located in Bethel and 113 in the 12 sur-
rounding villages as shown on Exhibit 15.The breakdown among
the existing building types can be estimated as follows:
Type III -The buildings of this type are unique structuresandarealllocatedinBethel.They include:
1.Bethel High School
2.Two elementary schools
3.Federal Aviation Administration Complex
4.The Bethel Airport
IV-3
5.BNC Complex
6.Kuskokwim Inn
7.National Guard Armory
8.PHS Hospital
9.The old PHS Hospital
10.BIA Compound
ll.AVCP Housing Complex
TOTAL:12 systems
Type II -In Bethel,an estimated 20 additional largerbuildingsfallintotheTypeIIcategory,including the
larger stores,the city offices,police station,and the
remaining schools.In the villages there are about 19
schools which fall into Type II.
A total of 52 Type II and Type III buildings are found in
the study area.
Type I -The remaining 280 public and commercial buildings(small stores and offices in Bethel and the villages,vil-
lage halls,police stations,churches,clinics,armories
and post offices,etc.)have convective type heating sys-
tems.About 197 of these Type I buildings are in Bethel
and the remaining 93 are in the villages.
Estimated Capital and Operating Costs
for Coal-Fired Space Heating
The estimated cost for converting to coal space heat is
shown on Exhibit 16.In addition to the initial capital cost
for conversion,a capital replacement factor of three percent
allows provision for a sinking fund for the entire system every
20 years.*In the case of non-residential systems,an annual
cost of 7 percent of the capital cost is used to estimate the
cost for operating and maintaining the system (exclusive of fuel
costs).
*For a complete discussion of economic assumptions,see
Chapter VI.
Iv--4
Capital costs are estimated as follows:
Residential systems $1,200
(see Table IV-1)
Type I systems 2,500
Type II systems 50,000
Type III systems 200,000
The residential system costs are from Table IV-l.The Type
I systems are estimated at $2,500 to allow for larger sizes or
automatic stoking stoves.The Type II and Type III system cost
estimates are order-of-magnitude estimates only.However,since
there are relatively few of these systems (compared to Type I
and residential systems),this number is not critical.
Iv-5
Chapter V
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF COAL ENERGY SUPPLY PLANS
All plans for supplying Bethel with coal for space heating
and electrical generation involve bringing coal in from outside
the study area.Environmental impacts from mining are thus not
part of this study.However,the storage,transportation,and
combustion of coal have the potential to influence air quality,
water quality and land use in the study area.These three im-
pact areas are discussed in the following section.
In evaluating environmental impacts,it is assumed that
87,000 ton equivalents of coal per year will be used in the
study area.This level of use is sufficient for meeting 80
percent of the space heating needs of the area by direct
combustion,and for providing all of the electrical generation
needs by a central steam turbine located in Bethel,with
interties to the twelve surrounding villages.Where possible,
the levels of impact from coal use in other energy supply plans
will be extrapolated.
Air Quality
Using coal as the principal space heating fuel is without
modern precedent in the U.S.(although many European communities
use coal extensively).It is therefore important to determine
whether coal will cause any severe air quality problems.To
this end,a preliminary calculation was made to determine the
impact of coal burning on ambient air quality standards under
worst-case conditions.It was determined that even under these
conditions,coal space heating alone will not violate ambient
air quality standards.Although emissions from an electricl
generating plant were not directly analyzed,by extrapolation,
it is possible to determine that,even if those emissions were
included,coal use alone would probably not cause ambient
standards to be exceeded.
Bethel is currently classified as an attainment area for
all criteria pollutants though no air quality data are available
for Bethel from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conserva-
tion.Alaska has adopted the national primary and secondary
ambient air quality standards as its primary standards.Hence,
this report addresses the air quality standards summarized on
Exhibit 17.These standards are upper limit concentrations of
pollutants allowed by law.The standards have various averaging
times and can be classified as either long-term (3 month and
annual),or short-term (24-hour and shorter)averages.The
long-term standards are average concentrations that cannot be
v-1
exceeded at any location,any year,within Alaska.The short-
term standards are upper limit concentrations that cannot be
exceeded more than once per year at any location in Alaska,
averaged over a specific time frame.
Emissions Estimates
Pollutant emissions from space heating were estimated for
Carbon Monoxide (CO),Particulate Matter (PM),Hydrocarbons
(HC),Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2),and Sulfur Dioxide (S09).To
estimate the maximum amount of pollutants,it was assumed that
space heating requirements for Bethel are met by convection
stoves.This is a worst-case assumption,since such stoves have
more emissions per ton of coal than boilers,furnaces or central
district heating plants,which are likely to provide at least
part of the heat under a more realistic scenario.Thus,it is
assumed that 80 percent of Bethel's space heat is provided by
2,919 coal-fired convection stoves,each burning 18.5 ton
equivalents per year of low sulfur coal,for a total of 54,000
ton equivalents per year.For this analysis,it is assumed that
Prince Rupert Coal is used,resulting in an actual tonnage of
43,548 per year.
An even more pessimistic emissions estimate is based on the
assumption that,in addition to the 54,000 ton equivalents used
for space heating,all of the 23,000 ton equivalents (18,548
actual)of coal used for electrical generation is burned in
convective stoves.Since power plants can burn fuels in a much
more controlled manner than stoves,this is a very conservative
estimate of emissions.
The emission factors for coal stoves vary with the type of
coal,the type of stove,burning technique,(i.e.,amount of
draft,closed or open system)and the way the test studies were
conducted.Three sources of literature provided the emission
factors given in Table V-l.The Hall and DeAngelis (23)factors
were chosen for this study because they are the most recent and
the studies were conducted near sea level.These factors
indicate the quantity of pollutant emitted per quantity of coal
burned.
Table V-1l
COAL STOVE EMISSION FACTORS
(gm pollutant/kg coal)
Pollutant Reference
co PM HC NO2 _SO2_
62.9 16.0 56.3 --PEDCo,(24)
97.5 15.0 -1.5 25.2*EPA,(25)
42.9 9.6 9.6 1.5 6.2 Wall et al,(23)
*Assumes 0.7%sulfur content in coal,slightly higher than
that to be used in Bethel.
Based on the Hall and DeAngelis emissions data,burning
54,000 tons of coal in convective stoves will produce the
following total annual emissions:
Tons per year Kilograms per year
Carbon Monoxide 1,868 1,669,000
Particulate Matter 417 372,577
Nitrogen Dioxide 65 58,064
Sulfur Dioxide 270 240,724
Hyddrocarbons 65 58,064
The month requiring the most heating is December (with
1,879 heating degree days)based on a thirty year norn.The
normal total heating degree days in a year is 13,203 (26).
Using the ratio of December to annual degree days,the amount of
coal to be consumed in the coldest month is calculated to be
about 2.6 ton equivalents (2.1 actual)per convective stove,or
7,586 ton equivalents (6,117 actual)throughout the city in an
average December.The maximum emissions produced from_burningcoalduringanaverageDecemberwillbeabout2.35 x 10°kg CO,5.24 x 104 kg each particulate matter and hydrocarbons,8.19 x103kgnitrogendioxideand3.39 x 104 kg sulfur dioxide.The
estimated coal-fired convection stove emissions rates are sum-
marized in Table V-2.
Table V-2
ESTIMATED EMISSION RATES
EXPECTED FROM COAL-FIRED CONVECTION STOVES
IN BETHEL,ALASKA
Emission Rate
(kg/hr)
Pollutants Averaging Time 54,000 T.E.?77,000 T.E.P
co Annual 190.3 271.3
8-hour 314.9 449.0
Particulate Matter Annual 42.6 60.7
24-hour 70.5 100.6
Hydrocarbons 3-hour 70.5 100.6
NOQ Annual 6.7 9.5
l-hour 11 15.7
SO2 Annual 27.5 39.1
24-hour 45.5 64.9
Source:Dames &Moore calculations.
a/Based on a monthly space heat requirement of 7,586 ton
equivalents (6,117 actual tons of Prince Rupert coal)per
month,which is the December consumption on a 54,000 ton
equivalent annual basis.
b/Based on a monthly electrical generation and space heat
requirement of 10,816 ton equivalents (8,723 actual tons of
Prince Rupert coal)per month,which is the December
consumption on a 77,000 ton equivalent annual basis.
The Dispersion Model
Having estimated the emissions rates by pollutant,it is
necessary to determine how the pollutants are dispersed under
the climatic and topographic conditions in Bethel in order to
predict ground level concentrations.
In the absence of specific meteorologic data on the fre-
quency of combinations of conditions resulting in poor disper-
sion,a series of worst case stagnant conditions was assumed.
The stagnant conditions occur less frequently and less dramati-
v-4
cally in Bethel than in lower latitude cities with similarterrainbecausethedurationandintensityofsunshineisless
in Bethel than lower latitude locations.Ordinarily,Bethel
experiences winds parallel to the river averaging about 12.9 mph
year round.For the purpose of this assessment,the worst case
dispersion conditions are assumed.Worst case conditions occur
most often when little wind disturbs the air and change of tem-
perature with height is slight.The following assumptions are
used to define the dispersion model:
fe)Temperature change as a function of height:0.00 to
0.40°C/100m.
oO Little lateral dispersion takes place.
fo)Winds are drainage winds of 1 meter per second which
flow toward the Kuskokwim River.
fe)Emissions of pollutants mix uniformly in the vertical
only to a height of the approximate top of the fog
layer,assumed to be 60 meters.Plume rise from the
chimneys is so small,it is neglected.
fe)The cross-flow distance within which the pollutants
will be emitted is 3660 meters.This is effectively
the width of the northeast southwest oriented city of
Bethel.
fe)The total emissions from convection stoves are assumed
to be distributed equally across the city in the
mixing layer.
fe)The highest pollution month is defined by the coldest
month,thus requiring the greatest amount of fuel to
be burned.Short-term emissions were based on this
month (December).
This model can be transformed to the following equation for
calculating ambient concentrations of each of the emissions:
where X =pollutant concentration (g/m?)
=constant to make units consistent =2.778 x 10°-hr
pollutant emission rate (kg/hr)
=wind speed rate (1 m/s)KGODORKIt=cross-flow distance (3,660 m)
Z =mixed depth (60 m).y-5
Estimated Pollutant Concentrations
Ambient concentrations for each pollutant emitted from
coal-fired convection stoves were estimated by inserting the
emission rates from Table V-2 into the equation given in Chap-
ter III.The resulting concentrations are listed on Exhibit 18.
The Alaska Ambient Air Quality Standards are listed on the
exhibit for comparison.
As shown on Exhibit 18,pollutant concentrations due to
Space heating are all less than 50 percent of the standards,
with the exception of the annual particulate concentrations.
However,the conditions assumed for estimating the concen-
trations will not occur on an annual basis.An average wind
speed of 1 m/s is not likely when the 30-year average wind speed
is about 5.8 m/s.Such mild winds (1 m/s)may occur in theshort-term (24-hour),but only about 16 percent of the time,orfivedaysinanaveragewintermonth.The long-term hydrocarbon
and sulfur dioxide concentrations are shown to a significant
percent of the standards,also.Again,this is because the
worst case conditions have assumed the December load occurs year
round,as do worst case dispersion conditions.
Conclusions of the Air Quality Analysis
The foregoing calculations indicate that even under very
pessimistic assumptions,burning coal to provide 80 percent of
Bethel's space heat will not,in the absence of other pollution
sources,cause the ambient air quality standards to be exceeded.
Even the addition of coal-fired electric generation for all of
the year 2002 requirements of the study area is unlikely to
cause ambient air quality standards to be exceeded.However,
this observation must be qualified because no air quality data
are available for Bethel,hence the background concentrations of
the criteria pollutants are unknown.It is assumed that back-
ground concentrations are small because of the lack of many
major stationary sources in Bethel.
If and when definite plans for coal use are made,a PSD
(Prevention of Significant Deterioration)permit may be re-
quired.In connection with a PSD permit,the regulatory agency
will likely require monitoring of ambient conditions and quanti-
tative modeling of the new source.
Adding additional coal fired space heating (up to 120 per-
cent of existing requirements)still,by itself,will not cause
any ambient air quality standards to be violated.Some coal
energy supply plans include centralized space heating from co-
generation or district heating.Such systems reduce the load
left for direct combustion stoves.Since emissions from the
V-6
central systems are more readily controlled than stove emis-
sions,such systems can be designed to avoid ambient air quality
problems in Bethel.Coal-fired steam electric generators can
also be designed to emit pollutants within the percentage of the
Standards not consumed by coal space heating.
The results of the Bethel coal burning study can be direct-
ly translated to other villages which wish to convert from fuel
oil to coal-fired stoves knowing the number of stoves and the
village area.For example,a village with 200 convection
stoves,covering about 35 acres (i.e.,about 2,900 meters
square)will result in less than 15 percent of the worst case
concentrations predicted for Bethel.Because of the strong
winds and flat terrain in southwestern Alaska,it appears that
there will be no adverse impacts on the air quality.
The above air quality discussion has not addressed the
problem of fugitive dust emissions from coal handling.Measures
such as spraying water on the coal during handling,and covering
trucks and even stockpiles with tarps can also be used to reduce
fugitive dust emissions.In addition all coal should be pur-
chased washed to remove coal particles smaller than about one
quarter inch.(All developed coal sources discussed can meet
this criterion).
Water Quality
The water quality impacts of coal use in Bethel are pri-
marily restricted to the coal stockpile areas.Rain water fall-
ing on the pile picks up fine particles and may dissolve sub-
stances on the surface of the coal.Runoff from the stockpiles,
if discharged,might be required to meet state water quality
criteria for growth of fish,shellfish and other aquatic life
(27).
If control of runoff were required,an earth berm could be
built on the downslope side of the stockpile.This would create
a small pond which would gradually infiltrate or evaporate.
In the villages,coal will be stored in sacks on pallets.
No water quality impact should result from this activity.
Acid rain from coal combustion and its impacts on water
quality has provoked concern elsewhere in the U.S.However,it
is not a cause for concern in the Bethel area.There are no
sources of acid rain west of Bethel (the direction from which
prevailing winds come).The amount of coal to be burned in the
area (less than 110,000 tons per year under any of the energy
supply plans)is quite small compared to the amounts burned in
Lower 48 areas where acid rain has been a problem.Finally,the
high average wind speeds prevalent in the Bethel areas insures
wide dispersal and dilution of whatever acids may form.
Land Use
Land use impacts,like water quality impacts,will result
from the need to store approximately a one year supply of coal.
As noted in Chapter III,there will be two stockpiles,a tempo-
rary storage area north of the petroleum dock in Bethel,and a
second area adjacent to the proposed coal-fired power (and pos-
sibly district heating)plant.Assuming that 87,000 tons of
coal are used annually,each of these stockpiles would occupy
less than 4 acres,if the coal piles are 40 feet thick.Since
coal can easily be stored more compactly by using piles up to 60
feet thick,the 4 acres is a high estimate of the land
requirement.
The City of Bethel is currently negotiating for the lease
of a seven-acre parcel adjacent to the petroleum dock.This
land could be made available for a coal stockpile (28).The
proposed coal-fired power plant site (the existing diesel power
plant site)is surrounded by vacant dry land.This land is
owned either by the village corporation or by the PHS.The
availability of this land for a coal stockpile has not been
determined.Coal storage would not conflict with any known
proposed development plans for the area.
Once the coal is sacked for residential use in Bethel,or
for use in the villages,the coal will be stored on pallets at
the power plant site.Since coal is assumed to be sacked on an
as needed basis,only a relatively small land area will be need-
ed for sacked coal storage.Coal for village use will be dis-
tributed from the city cargo dock.To avoid congestion in the
cargo dock area,it is recommended that coal be moved to the
dock area just before the loading of each village-bound barge.
Another land use impact involves disposal of ash.If
77,000 tons of 10 percent ash coal is used in Bethel,7,700 tons
of ash will be disposed of each year.This ash could possibly
be mixed in with the earth cover of the landfill,used in road
paving,or used in construction fill operations.Before select-
ing a coal for use in Bethel,test burns should be conducted to
insure that the ash does not contain any significant quantities
of toxic materials.
Chapter VI
ECONOMIC RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Results
The cost of providing coal to the communities in the study
area equals the costs to purchase the coal at the mine,trans-
port and handle it in Bethel,and distribute it to the villages.
These costs,developed in previous chapters,constitute part of
a total energy supply plan cost.
An energy supply plan is a total energy system,including
electric generation and space heating.The systems costed in
this coal feasibility analysis do not include cost of power
generation.Electric generating system costs are presented in
Appendix C.
The cost of coal from alternative sources is summarized on
Exhibit 2.Heat content and costs F.O.B.mine are obtained from
Table II-l1 and Exhibit 4.Where there are a range of values,
the arithmetic mean of the extreme values was used.Costs for
transportation to Bethel are derived from Exhibit 7.In column
4 of Exhibit 2,the sum of the mine and transport costs are
corrected for heat content to yield a comparable cost per ton-
equivalent of 10,000 Btu/pound coal,F.O.B.Bethel.
(These costs can easily be converted to cost per million Btu by
dividing by 20.)
To calculate the cost of coal for electric generation,
sacking,and bulk delivery,the fixed costs of Exhibit 14 were
divided by the actual tonnage of each type of coal required to
yield 23,000*;26,000*;and 38,000*ton-equivalents,respective-
ly.The cost to move coal from the pier to the power plant
stockpile is added to each of these costs in proportion to ton-
nage in each form.
Finally,in column 8 of Exhibit 2,the cost of coal
delivered to the villages surrounding Bethel is shown.Rather
than dealing with each village,the weighted average local barge
delivery cost ($44.67/ton)was corrected for heat content and
added to the cost of sacked coal in Bethel.
*10,000 Btu ton equivalents.These tonnages are based on the
year 2002 requirements shown on Exhibit 5.
VI-1
It is interesting to note that the coals with the lowest
cost*are those from undeveloped occurrences.Unless estimates
of mined costs (see Exhibit 4)are very low,Alaskan sources are
attractive.
The Beluga coal,although of fairly low heat content,is
estimated to be inexpensive to mine,if this large-scale
proposed export market mine develops.Further,Beluga coal
benefits from a fairly low-cost transportation link to Bethel.
The second lowest F.0O.B.cost coal is from Cape Beaufort.
While mining costs are assumed to be high,transport costs are
moderate.The high heat content of Cape Beaufort coal is an
additional advantage for sack delivery.When high handling cost
per sack is divided over its greater heat content,this coal
Surpasses Beluga as the lowest cost coal for use in sacked
form.
Prince Rupert coal is an immediately available source with
costs 45 percent higher F.O.B.Bethel than Beluga coal.Once
the high handling costs of Bethel distribution operations are
added,the cost penalty for availability is reduced.Sacked in
Bethel,Prince Rupert coal only 7 percent more costly than Cape
Beaufort coal,the least costly coal in sacked form.
Vancouver coal is a close second to Prince Rupert coal,
with an F.O.B.Bethel cost only 5 percent higher.The cost
difference widens,however,as more handling steps are added.
This is due to the Vancouver coal's slightly lower heat content
per ton.
Powder River and Usibelli coals compare unfavorably to the
Prince Rupert and Vancouver coals.Despite its fairly low
transport cost,Usibelli coal is expensive on a ton-equivalent
basis because of its low heat content.This disadvantage is
further emphasized by its high distribution costs,as more
actual tonnage must be handled.Powder River coal suffers from
high transportation costs.
In addition to Beluga and Cape Beaufort coals,the undevel-
oped Alaskan occurrences at Matanuska,Herendeen Bay and Bering
River appear promising.Matanuska's proximity to Anchorage
results in a reasonable mining cost and moderate transport costs
to Bethel.Herendeen Bay benefits from an existing deepwater
port and its proximity to Bethel.Bering River coals benefit
from their high heat content and low transport costs.Kuskokwim
coal resources,despite their proximity to Bethel,are not cost
efficient due to their high mining cost.
*10,000 Btu ton equivalents.These tonnages are based on the
year 2002 requirements shown on Exhibit 5.
ViI-2
Exhibit 3 summarizes the components of the net present
worth of a coal-fired energy supply plan that provides 80
percent of the space heating in the study area (by direct
combustion)and all of the study area's electrical
requirements.
The annual fuel costs of Exhibit 3 were obtained by taking
the year 2002 tonnage requirements from Exhibit 5 (at 80 percent
direct combustion coal space-heat)and dividing them into:
1.Electrical energy (23,000 ton-equivalents);
2.Bulk delivery:coinmercial space-heat in Bethel
(38,000 ton-equivalents);
3.Sacked for Bethel:coal for small business and resi-
dential space heating (estimated at 26,000 ton-
equivalents);
4.Sacked for village space heating (estimated at 10,000
ton-equivalents).
These tonnage requirements for each form of coal were multiplied
by the cost per ton equivalent shown on Exhibit 2.Exhibit 2
presents the cost of coal in 1982 dollars.To determine the
cost of coal over the life of the proposed project,the real
cost escalation for coal must be projected into the future.
There are two bases for estimating cost escalation:market price
escalation and production cost escalation.These two rates are
related but by no means identical.The market pvrice is the
value of a coal on the world market.This price depends on the
cost of coal from competing sources,world demand,cost of
production,duration of contract,and coal quality,to list just
a few of the factors.
At present,coal prices are depressed because of low demand
due to a world-wide recession and temporarily low oil prices.
For the next few years real market prices will escalate very
slowly.In the longer term,rapidly decreased demands,
especially in the Pacific Rim countries,can be expected to
drive up prices by calling forth increasingly expensive sources.
The Railbelt Alternatives Study (29)estimates that coal landed
in Japan will escalate at a real (constant dollar)1.6 percent
per year between 1985 and 1990 and at 2.4 percent thereafter.
The market cost,in the long run at least,is affected by
the long run marginal cost of production.Long term coal
contracts frequently contain clauses tying price to escalations
in capital,labor,and energy costs.A representative for a
VI-3
Canadian mining firm estimated that those costs will escalate at
about 2 percent per year (real)(30).This rate agrees with the
market price escalation rate.However,by APA's assumption,
inflation is zero except for petroleum fuels.There is no basis
for assuming that labor or equipment cost will escalate faster
than the underlying inflation rate.This suggests that a cost-
based escalation rate should be about 20 percent (the petroleum
energy component)of the overall 2 percent escalation,or about
0.4 percent.
Therefore,two real escalation rates were used for
increasing the cost of coal over time.For coal sources which
serve a world market,the escalation rate should be 2 percent to
reflect the opportunity cost on the world market.For coal
mines developed for Alaska use only,real cost escalation factor
of 0.4 percent was used,which reflects only the petroleum fuel
related cost run-up.
The 1982 present value of fuel costs for the coal energy
supply plan is obtained by supplying the 2002 requirement over
the period from 1985-2038.As noted above,coal costs are
assumed to escalate (at either 0.4 or 2 percent per year)from
1982 to 2002.Thereafter price is constant.All costs must be
discounted back to 1982 dollars at a 3.5 percent discount rate.
The following formula can be used to calculate the
discounted present value of a cost stream growing at a constant
annual amount:
4 +sy'Initial value x (i-+-2)4 +eg
where:e =esclation rate =0.02 or 0.004
r =discount rate =0.035
n =years =36
Thus,the 1985 present value of coal from 1985 to 2002 is
14.95 times its 1985 cost for coal which escalates at 2 percent
per year;and 13.07 times 1985 cost for coal which escalates at
0.4 percent per year.
Coal which costs $1.00 in 1982 and escalates at 2%per year
costs $1.0612 in 1985,which has a 1982 present value of $0.957.
To get the 1982 present value of the fuel costs from 1985 to
2002,for a 2 percent escalation,$14.95 is multiplied by 0.957
to obtain $14.31.Thus coal which cost $1.00 in 1982 costs
$14.31 to supply from 1985 to 2002.Similarly,coal which
escalates at 0.4 percent per year costs $1.012 in 1985 has a
1982 present value of $0.91.Thus the 1982 value of fuel costs
from 1985 to 2002 is 0.91 times $13.07,or $11.93 times the 1982
fuel cost.
By APA's assumption,there is no cost escalation between
2002 and 2039 (the end point of the project analysis period).
Thus to get the value of the coal from 2003 to 2039:
1.Find the 2003 cost of coal.
2.Find the 2003 value of a 36 year cost stream using the
cost of coal in Item 1.
3.Take the 1982 present value of the 2003 value.
Escalated at 2 percent per year,coal which costs $1.00 in
1982 costs $1.52 in 2003.The 2003 present value of a $1.52
cost stream for 36 years is $31.92,which has a 1982 present
value of $15.50.Similarly,for coal which escalates at 0.4
percent per year,coal which costs $1.00 in 1982 costs $1.09 in
2003.A 36-year $1.09 cost stream has a 2003 present value of
$22.89,and a 1982 present value of $11.12.
To find the 1982 value of the cost stream for coal from
1985 to 2038,the two 1982 present values are added.Thus coal
which escalates from $1.00 in 1982 at 2 percent has a 1982 cost
stream value of $14.31 plus $15.50 or $29.81.Thus to find the
1982 discounted cost of coal over the project life,the 1982
cost (Exhibit 2)is multiplied by 29.81.Similarly,for coal
which escalates at 0.4 percent,the 1982 cost is multiplied by
23.05 (the sum of $11.93 and $11.12).
The fuel costs which result from this analysis appear on
Exhibit 3.
In addition to fuel costs,the coal energy supply plan cost
includes capital cost for retrofitting,existing space heating
facilities to burn coal,and the operation maintenance and
replacement costs for all existing and future heating facil-
ities.Assuming that 80 percent of existing facilities convert
to coal,the cost of this conversion (from Exhibit 16)will be
$1,662,000 for residential buildings and $4,128,000 for public
and commercial buildings,for a total of $5,800,000.If the
conversion to coal is done in 1985,the 1982 present value is
$5,142,000.
The operation,maintenance and replacement (OM&R)is based
on the new and existing system needed to provide 80 percent of
vI-5
the 2002 projected space heating demand.Exhibit 16 shows that
OM&R totals $87,000 per year for residential systems and
$446,000 per year for commercial and public systems.The
present (1982)value of this annual flow is $11,517,000.
Comparing the total system costs of different coal sources,
undeveloped Alaska coal sources again appear most attractive.
Cape Beaufort coal is the lowest cost source,closely followed
by Herendeen Bay.At the level of accuracy of this study,the
three sources are essentially equal.
Only slightly more costly than the top three sources are
the Bering River and Matanuska occurrences.Beluga coal,while
inexpensive in the early years,escalates at the higher (2
percent)rate of i ternational market sources.Therefore,it is
somewhat more expensive than the above-mentioned Alaska sources.
Distinction among the top five undeveloped occurrences awaits
refinement of their comparative costs to mine.Although
Kuskokwim coal is the closest source,it is clearly inferior due
to its high cost to mine.
Comparing the net present value (NPV)cost of developed
sources,Prince Rupert coal is again least costly,closely
followed by Vancouver coal.Unless more favorable long-term
delivery contracts can be obtained for Utah or Vancouver coal,
or if the barge cost to Bethel is more expensive than assumed
here,Prince Rupert coal should remain the preferred developed
source.Usibelli coal is a poor fourth choice because of its
much higher costs in sacked form.
Conclusions
The ultimate economic attractiveness of a coal energy sup-
ply plan cannot be evaluated until factoring in the cost of thecoal-fired electrical generation system.Then the coal energy
supply plan can be compared with alternative supply plans based
on other energy sources.However,on the basis of the informa-
tion developed to date,the following conclusions can be drawn:
l.It is technically and economically feasible to ship
coal to the Bethel area from as far away as Utah.
2.Capital investment requirements for developing a coal
handling infrastructure in Bethel total 3.4 million
(1982 dollars).
3.The net present value of capital equipment replacement
costs total $5.5 million (1982).
VI-6
A.The capital investment required to replace the exist-
ing diesel space heating system with coal-fired equip-
ment is $26.0 million (1982 dollars).
These capital expenditures,plus the annual operation and
Maintenance costs,and fuel purchase and transportation costs,
result in an NPV of $227 million (1982 dollars)for Cape
Beaufort coal,the least costly undeveloped coal occurrence.
Prince Rupert,the least costly developed source,has an NPV of
$318 million.These expenditures can be converted to levelized
annual costs of $9.5 and $13.3 million (1982 dollars),respec-
tively for Cape Beaufort and Prince Rupert coal energy supply
plans.
The 1982 cost of coal (including the levelized cost of
capital equipment and operation and maintenance)can be compared
to the cost of diesel fuel.Assuming Prince Rupert coal is
used,costs can be compared as follows:
Coal Diesel Assumed
Cost Per Ton Cost Per Ton Diesel
End-Use Equivalent?Equivalent Cost ($/gal.)
Power Plant $92.55 $197.0 $1.35
Sacked/Bethel 136.64 204.0 $1.40
Sacked/Villages 172.66 226.0 $1.55
Bulk/Bethel 95.22 197.0 $1.35
4 Prom Exhibit 2.
These cost comparisons indicate that coal is a much less
costly fuel than diesel,even when the high costs of transporta-
tion and sacking are included.However,these results are pre-
liminary.Again,final comparison must compare the NPV of the
coal system with its diesel counterpart,including both capital
and fuel costs.
Assuming that development of coal energy sources is indi-
cated,arrangements should be made to obtain a 5-to 10-year
contract for Prince Rupert coal,and to transport that coal to
Bethel.As the term of this contract draws to a close,the
imported coal's costs should be compared with the least costly
available Alaskan source.If the Alaskan source proves more
economical than Prince Rupert coal (as this report indicates it
will),contracts can be negotiated to convert to this local
source coal.
Vi-7
ll.
12.
13.
14,
15.
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Denton,Steve:Personal communication,August,1982.
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Crowley Maritime,Dave Schuyler:Personal communication,
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Paceco Crane Co.,Telecommunication with Mr.Tom Venator,
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REFERENCES (Cont'd)
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McGraw Hill,17 September 1981,"Hourly Wage Scales in
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NY.
Tabor Mining Manufacturing Co.,Telecommunication with Mr.
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9 June 1982,Seattle,WA.
U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics,17 June 1982,Re:FEquip-
ment Price Index published by Engineering News Record,"2nd
Quarterly Cost Roundup:Machinery,"McGraw Hill,New York,
NY.
United Transportation,Jack Turner:Personal comnunica-
tion,Bethel,AK,August 6,1982.
Hall,Robert,and DeAngelis:"EPA's research program for
controlling residential wood combustion emissions",JAPCA,
Vol.30,No.8 p.862,1980.
PEDCo-Environmental,Inc.,"Source Testing for Fireplaces,
Stoves,and Restaurant Grills in Vail,Colorado",prepared
for the USEPA,Region VIII,1977.
Environmental Protection Agency:"Compilation of Air
Pollutant Emission Factors",Report AP-42,Second Edition,
Supplements 7 &8,1977.
National Climatic Center,Local Climatological Data,1980.
Alaska Department of Conservation,Ellen Fritts:Personal
communication,November 2,1982,Juneau,AK.
Boyette,Dan,City of Bethel Engineer:Personnel communi-
cations.
29.
30.
REFERENCES (Cont'd)
Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories,"Railbelt Electric
Power Alternatives Study:Fossil Fuel Availability and
Price Forecasts",Vol.VII;for the Office of the Governor,
Juneau,AK,March,1982.
Drozd,Richard,Bullmoose Mine:Personal communication,
October 28,1982.
wAA7BUCKET CRANE
UNLOADING OFPARGE
fAJeOm EuirrterT:-CRAKILER.CRANE KI/&CL.TO.BUCKET
-POLER ON BARGE-COAL CONVETOR
-FEL AT PIER SfakpiePeo|
90000 ToS ANNUALLY
TRUCK SHIPMENTToPLANT
MAIOR.Eauiprteny:
(2)20-ToN GAPACITY
DUMP TRUCKS
-FEL AT PIER STOCKPILE
-Dozer AT PLANT SITE
30000 TONS ANNUALLY
EXHIBIT 1
-FRoT END LoApeR
-(2)FLAT BED Trucks
-SACK FEED HOPPER
-BURLAP SACKS
-PALLETS
10,000 Tons:||6,000 Toke"ANNU ALL T AWMEEELT.[ ]2-ToeVILLAGES |DETHEL
-(2)20-Tou CAPACITYPUMPTRucKs
|SACK SHIPMENT BULK SHIPMENT PLANT Use
tAJom EQUIPMENT:MAJOR EQUIPMENT:PIiAJoR EQUIPMENT:-FRONT ENO LOADER -pozerR
328,000 TONS ANNUALLT |23000 Tons ANNUALLY
=+"
7
ALASKA POWER AUTHORITY
BETHEL AREA POWER PLAN
FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT
Dames &Moore
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF PROPOSED
COAL HANDLING AND
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS IN BETHEL
HARZA ENGINEERING COMPANYSanFrancisco
December 1982
EXHIBIT 2
SUMMARY OF COAL COSTS BY END-USE CATEGORY AND SOURCES
(Based on 2002 Demands)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Cost Bethel:Bethel:Bethel:villages:
per 10,000 Power Plant Sacked Cost Bulk Cost Sacked Cost
Heat Cost Transport Btu/lb Ton-Cost Per Ton Per Ton-Per Ton-Per Ton
Content F.O.B.Mine Cost Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent
Source (Btu/ib)1 ($/ton)1 ($/ton)2 FOB Bethel3 ($/t.e.)4 ($/t.e.)($/t.e.)($/t.e.)
Developed Sources
l.Usibelli 7,850 28.35 44 92.16 107.87 175.27 112.14 232.17
2.Powder River 9,300 12.00 86 105.38 120.80 178.20 124.39 226.23
3.Utah 12,400 34.00 83 94.35 110.29 154.38 112.96 190.40
4.Vancouver 11,000 47.30 41 80.27 95.83 144.96 98.86 185.57
5.Prince Rupert 12,400 54.00 41 76.61 92.55 136.64 95.22 172.66
Undeveloped Sources
6.Kuskokwim 10,000 80.00 23 103.00 118.43 172.07 121.77 216.74
7.Unalakleet 6,500 60.00 34 144.61 161.18 242.00 166.35 310.73
8.Nulato 10,000 60.00 60 120.00 135.43 189.07 138.77 233.74
9.Broad Pass 6,200 40.00 38 125.81 142.68 227.30 148.11 299.35
10.Susitna (Beluga)8,300 20.00 24 53.00 68.56 132.47 72.60 186.29
11.Matanuska 11,500 40.00 39 68.69 84.37 131.55 87.26 170.39
12.Kenai 6,500 40.00 23 96.92 113.49 194.31 118.66 263.04
13.Herendeen Bay 11,500 60.00 13 63.47 79.15 126.33 82.04 165.17
14.Bering River 12,500 60.00 30 72.00 87.97 131.74 90.63 167.48
15.Chicago Creek 6,500 60.00 44 160.00 176.57 257.39 181.74 326.12
16.Cape Beaufort 13,000 60.00 19 60.77 76.92 119.20 79.47 153.56
Source:Dames &Moore calculations
1.See Table II-1 and Exhibit 4.Where there is a range,the mean value is used.
2.See Exhibit 7.
3.Column 2 plus Column 3 times 10,000/Column 1.
4.Total demand -87,000 T.E.,of which electric demand is 23,000 T.E.,bulk demand in Bethel is
38,000 T.E.,sacked demand in Bethel is 16,000 T.E.,and sacked demand in villages is 10,000 T.F.
EXHIBIT 3
TOTAL NET PRESENT VALUES OF COAL ENERGY SUPPLY PLANS FOR SELECTED COAL SOURCES
($Thousand,1982)
Capital Cost P.V.of Total P.V.(1982)
Present Value (1982)Fuel Costl for Retrofit Annual of Coal
Use Sacked for Sacked for Total of O&M Energy
Source Electricity?Bethel 3 Bethel Use4 Village Use?Fuel Cost Space Heaters®1985-20386 Supply Plan
Developed
Usibel1i®77,041 131,774 84,241 69,414 362,470 .5,142 11,517 379,129
Utah8 78,986 134,270 75,894 58,048 347,198 5,142 11,517 363,857
vancouver®69,032 118,284 71,015 56,348 314,679 5,142 11,517 331,338
Prince Rupert8 66,965 114,411 67,531 52,822 301,730 5,142 11,517 318,389
Undeveloped
Kuskokwim?68,092 117,549 67,640 52,799 305,900 5,142 11,517 322,559
Beluga®50,385 87,622 64,228 55,998 258,232 5,142 11,517 274,891
Mt uska?49,555 84,968 52,412 42,008 228,943 5,142 11,517 245,602
Herendeen?46,696 80,245 50,424 40,765 218,130 5,142 11,517 234,789
Cape Beaufort?45,629 78,048 48,085 38,236 210,358 5,142 11,517 227,017
Bering River?51,625 88,343 52,740 41,472 234,180 5,142 11,517 250,839
1.See Exhibit 2 for costs per ton-equivalents.
2.Based on 23,000 T-E per year.
3.Based on 38,000 T-E per year.
4.Based on 16,000 T-E per year.
5.Based on 10,000 T-F per year.
6.See Exhibit 16.
7.Values based on 1982 P.V.of annuity of $553,000 for years 1985 to 2038.
8.Escalates at 2 percent real rate (world market supplier)
9.Escalates at 0.4 percent real rate (domestic supplier)
Source:Dames &Moore Calculations
EXHIBIT 3
TOTAL NET PRESENT VALUES OF COAL ENFRGY SUPPLY PLANS FOR SFLECTED COAL SOURCES
(S Thousand,1982)
Capital Cost P.V.of Total P.V.(1982)
Present Value (1982)Fuel Cost!for Retrofit Annual of Coal
Bethel Sacked for Bulk Use Sacked for Total of O&M Energy
Source Power Plant?Bethel Use?in Rethel4 Village Use?Fuel Cost Space Heaters®1985-20386 Supply Plan
Developed
Usibelli?73,9592/83,597 127,030 69,2190 353,796 5,142 11,517 370,455
Utah?75,618 73,633 127,951 56,758 333,960 5,142 11,517 350,619Vancouver?65,704 69,140 111,987 55,318 392,149 5,142 11,517 318,808
Prince Rupert'63,455 65,172 107,863 51,470 287,960 5,142 11,517 304,619
Undeveloped
Kuskokwim8 62,786 63,459 106,658 49,959 282,862 5,142 11,517 299,52)
Beluga'47,007 63,183 82,240 55,533 247,963 5,142 11,517 264,622
Matanuska®44,729 48,516 76,431 39,275 208,951 5,142 11,517 225,610
Herendeen®41,961 46,591 71,859 38,972 198,483 5,142 11,517 215,142
Cape Reaufort8 40,779 43,961 69,608 35,396 189,744 5,142 11,517 206,403
Bering River8 46,637 48,586 79,383 38,604 213,219 5,142 11,517 229,869
1.See Exhibit 2 for costs per ton-equivalents.
2.Based on 23,000 T-E per year.
3.Based on 16,000 T-E per year.
4.Based on 38,000 T-E per year.
5.Based on 10,000 T-E per year.
6.See Exhibit 16,
7.Escalates at 2 percent real rate (world market supplier).PV factor =29,81
8.Escalates at 0.4 percent real rate (domestic supplier).PV factor =23.05
9.Example Calculation:$107.87/te x 23,000 te x 29.81 (PV factor)=$73,959,000,
Source:Dames &Moore Calculations
EXHIBIT 4
PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ALASKAN COAL OCCURRENCES
Estimated Cost Distance
Factors to Mine to Development
Source and Location Rank and/or Heat Content Affecting Mineability or Purchase Bethel Status
(Btu/1b.)(§7Ton-FOB Mine)(Miles)
Nenana District
Usibelli Mine,Subbituminous Existing surface mine $28.35 1575 Developed
Healy,AK 7,850 with capacity to meet
Bethel's requirements.
Kuskokwim District
Nunivak and Nelson Islands Bituminous Thin beds (2 feet or $80.00 250-270 Very unlikely
10,000 less),high ash,remote
location,occurrences
probably on native lands,
no port facilities.
Unalakleet District
various locations near Lignite Low grade coal,acces by $60.00 550 Unlikely
Unalakleet and up to 6,500 river barge,no developed
40 miles upriver infrastructure.History
of small scale mining.
Nulato District
Various occurrences on Yukon Bituminous Mostly thin beds and $60.00 600-900 Unlikely
River between Ruby and Anvik 10,000 limited extent.Access
only by shallow draft
river barges.
Flat District
Iditarod River Deposits Anthracite Very limited resources.Ac-$60.00 800 Unlikely
14,000 cess by shallow draft river
barge,remot location.
Cape Beaufort/
Corwin Bluff District
Various occurrences Bituminous to Probably extensive resources,$60.00 860 Good long
Anthracite some in thick gently dipping term prospect
12,000 -14,000 beds.Access to tidewater,
but no developed infra-
structure.
Source and Location
Cook Inlet/Susitna
Broad Pass
Susitna
(Beluga)
Matanuska
Kenai (Homer)
Alaska Peninsula
Herendeen Bay
Unga Island
Chignik Coal Field
Bering River District
EXHIBIT 4 (cont'd)
PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ALASKAN COAL OCCURRENCES
Bering River Coal
Seward Peninsula
Chicago Creek
Estimated Cost Distance
Factors to Mine to
Rank and/or Heat Content Affecting Mineability or Purchase Bethel
(Btu/ib.)($7Ton-FOB Mine)(Miles)
Lignite Extensive resources but $40.00 1,200
5410 7040 development contingent
on Beluga.Low rank.
Lignite-sub-bituminous Mineable by large-scale $20.00 1,320
7030 =-9520 surface techniques on
tidewater,but low rank
Bituminous Previously developed mine,$40.00 1,370
9,000 -14,000 could be reopened.
Lignite Mineable by large-scale $40.00 1,230
6,500 surface techniques on
tidewater,but low rank.
Bituminous Moderate folding,but some $60.00 420
11,500 thick beds.Near tidewater.
Remote location.
Lignite Remote location,very low $80.00 960
5,800 rank.
Bituminous Fairly extensive deposits $60.00 880
9,600 -11,200 with some 3-foot beds,but
surface mineability unknown.
Bituminous-Highly folded occurrence $60.00 ?
Anthracite with extensive deposits.
10,000 -15,000
Lignite Steep dips,but thick $60.00 840
6,500 bed.Shallow access.
Development
Status
Possible in
long term
Under active
consideration
Possible
medium term
Possible in
long term
Possible in
long term
very unlikely
Possible in
long term
Under considera-
tion by City of
Cordova
Unlikely
(1)
Electricity Demands
EXHIBIT 5
DEMAND FORECAST OF COAL ENERGY REQUIREMENTS BY COMMUNITY1
(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)
Million
Community Btu Tons2,3
Bethel 104,848 19,416
Akiachak 2,236 414
Akiak 1,147 213
Atmautluak 1,141 211
Eek 1,667 309
Kasigluk 2,412 447
Kweth1luk 1,937 359
Napakiak 2,249 416
Napaskiak 1,497 277
Nunapitchuk 1,482 274
Oscarville 400 74
Tuluksak 1,381 256
Tuntutuliak 1,052 195
TOTAL FOR
STUDY AREA 123,451 22,861
1 Demand forecasts based on Darbyshire &Associates,10/15/82.
(7)(8)
Total Total
Space Heating Demands4 Electric Electric
+50%Coal +80%CoalMillionBtuTons2Tons2SpaceHeatSpaceHeat
@ 100%@ 803%@ 50%
1,341,500 53,600 33,538 52,954 73,076
34,000 1,360 850 1,264 1,774
10,500 420 263 475 633
18,500 740 463 674 951
25,000 1,000 625 934 1,309
38,000 1,520 950 1,397 1,867
27,000 1,080 675 1,034 1,039
21,000 840 525 941 1,256
16,500 660 413 690 1,274
25,000 1,000 625 899 937
5,000 200 125 199 274
17,500 700 438 693 756
20,500 820 513 707 1,015
1,600,000 64,000 40,000 62,861 86,761
2 All coal tonnages are based on 10,000 Btu per pound ton-equivalents.
3 Coal is assumed to be converted to electricity at a 27%end-use efficiency.
4 For purposes of heating demand,the space heat demands from Darbyshire (10/15/82)were
This assumes that coal can be burned with the sameconverteddirectlyintocoal.
efficiency as existing sources.
ere 'EXHIBIT 6
jen Sfoene are oFRULES-FIAD -
CIAL
200 FT.LeNGTit
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-_--en :.'Hd
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Lone 50 )50 100
.3 h +-1 t ___|:
;:;
ALASKA POWER AUTHORITY
r :!BETHEL AREA POWER PLAN
a i .FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT
:-PROPOSED COAL UNLOADING SYSTEM
oo.a ._p.-TEMPORARY STOCKPILE AT
i ao,ole 'PETROLEUM DOCK IN BETHEL
;-41 .Dames &Moore :
},
;Fo _HARZA ENGINEERING COMPANY.
:San Francisco,sy -
ee 2 -..December 1982
on
LCOAL.HorreR
-
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Sypeene AREA
PERIMETER.APT HIGH
Perm.CUTANOFit.Te sulTOPogRAPHicCONDITION.
I
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EXHIBIT 7
COST OF TRANSPORTING COAL TO BETHEL BY BARGE AND RAIL
(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)
Rail Total
Assumed Round Trip Transport Cost of
Barge Barge Cost Per Rail &Handling Transport
Source .Distance Size Tonl Distance Cost2 to Bethel Port of Embarcation
(Miles)(Tons)($/Ton) (Miles)(§/7Ton)(§/ton)
Developed Sources
1.Usibelli Mine 1,320 6,000+24 375 20 44 Seward,AK?
2.Powder River,MT 2,430 6,000+42 1,100 44 86 Portland,OR
3.Utah 3,170 6,000+57 850 25 83 Long Beach,CA
4.Vancouver 2,280 6,000+415 --41 Roberts Bank,BC
5.Prince Rupert 1,830 6,000+41 --41 Prince Rupert,BC
Undeveloped Sources
6.Kuskokwim District 250-270 2,000 233 --23 Mine
7.Unalakleet District 550 2,000 343 --34 Mine
8.Nulato District 600-9004 500 604 --60 Mine
9.Broad Pass 1,200 6,000+23 150 15 38 Seward?
10..Susitna (Beluga)1,280 6,000+24 --24 Mine
ll.Matanuska 1,320 6,000+24 -156 39 Anchorage?
12.Kenai 1,230 6,000+23 --23 Homer
13.Herendeen Bay 420 6,000+13 --13 Herendeen Bay
14.Bering River 1,500 2,000+_30 --30 Mine
15.Chicago Creek 840 6,000+44 --44 Mine
16.Cape Beaufort 840 6,000+19 --19 Mine
*
1 Barge transport costs are based on an average of Exhibit 8 and Table III-l,except as noted.See text for
underlying assumptions.
2 Rail cost based on coal tariffs for long-term contract,but not unit train shipments.Costs include aloading/unloading charge of $5.00 per ton at Portland and Long Beach,and $8.00 per ton at Seward.
3 Based on estimated costs from Crowley for 2,000-ton barge (2 times 5,000-ton barge cost on Exhibit 8).
4 Based on costs for 500-ton river barges reported.
5 Based on estimated from Sea Span,1982.Includes,$2.00 per ton loading charge at Roberts Bank.
6 A very approximate estimate of the cost of trucking,stockpiling and loading coal on barges in Anchorage.
7 No coal loading facilities now exist at Anchorage or Seward,but facilities will likely be built at atleastoneoftheseports.
EXHIBIT 8
DAILY LEASE RATES FOR CROWLEY MARITIME TUG AND BARGE EQUIPMENT1
Cost2 Cost2
Maximum Barge Tug Per Day Per Day Cost Per Ton at One-Way Distance of 3
Coal Tonnage Dimension Horsepower Underway Standby 250 500 1000 2000 2500
@ 12-Inch Draft (feet)(HP)(Dollars)(Dollars)(Miles)(Miles)(Miles)(Miles)(Miles)
5,000 250 2,800 11,000 9,000 11.60 16.00 24.80 42.40 51.20
5,400 312 2,800 11,500 9,500 11.20 15.50 24.10 41.10 49.60
6,900 400x76 5,000 13,800 10,000 9.80 13.80 21.80 37.80 45.80
9,100 400x100 7,000 17,500 12,500 9.30 13.20 20.94 36.30 44.00
1 Based on personal communication,Dave Schyler,Crowley Maritime,Seattle,4/28/82.
2 Costs assume no back-haul cargo,but that the barge could be used in other service during the
winter months.
3 Costs assume 4 days total loading/unloading (standby)time per trip and 250 miles per day
headway.No allowance is included for annual mobilization from the Lower 48 in the case of
remote Alaskan ports.
CAPITAL COSTS FOR ALTERNATIVE A
EXHIBIT 9
Includes 10%add-on for shipping charges.
Includes 5%add-on for shipping charges.
Capital Allocated Capital
Item (Fixed Costs)(Fixed)Costs
($1000)($1000)
Material Dock Sack Bulk Plant
Manitowoc Model 3900 Vicon crawler crane $550.01 550.0 --
6 cy.yd.Erie Strayer clam buckets (plus spare)44.01 44.0 ---
(2)D-6 Caterpillar dozers 315.02 157.5 --123.5
(1)300 ft.coal conveyor 429.02 429.0 ---
(2)20-ton dump trucks 223.02 74.4 -148.6 -
(1)Caterpillar 977 front-end loader 199.52 121.7 38.9 38.9 -
(1)Caterpillar v-30C fork lifts 54.62 -54.6 -
(2)Flat-bed trucks 210.02 -210 --
(1)Sack feed hopper 16.51 -16.5 --
(320)Timber piles 4.8 4.8 ---
Miscellaneous road and dock improvements 500.0 500.0 ---
TOTAL $2546.4 1915.4 320 187.5 123.5
Installation Labor
Timber pile installation $9.6 9.6 ---
Conveyor construction labor 390.0 390.0 ---
Miscellaneous road and dock improvements 500.0 500.0 ---
TOTAL INSTALLATION 899.6 899.6 0 0 0
TOTAL CAPITAL COSTS $3,446 2789.4 $30.1 $196.9 $148.6
LEVELIZED ANNUAL COST $139.59 113.0 12.6 8.0 6.0
REPLACEMENT COSTS
(1)
EXHIBIT 10
FOR CAPITAL EQUIPMENT AND EXPECTED USEFUL LIFE
(2)(3)
Cost (in thousands
(4)
Capital (Fixed)Costs
(Thousands 1982S)
(5)(6)(7)
Item Replacement Time of 1982 dollars)Dock Sack Bulk Plant
Crane and 2 buckets every 8 years $594.01 594.0 ---
(2)D-6 Carterpillar dozers every 8 years 315.02 166.4 --148.6
Conveyor belt (labor and materials)years,1 21 &4l 13.21 13.2 ---
Conveyor belt,idlers and rollers
(labor and materials)every 3 years 69.31 69.3 --
Conveyor structure,belt,idlers,rol-
lers &hoppers (labor &materials)years 21 &41 819.01 819.0 ---
(2)20-ton dump trucks every 8 years 223.02 70.0 -153.0
(1)Caterpillar 977 front-end loader every 8 years 199.52 125.6 30.0 43.9 -
(2)Caterpillar vV-30C fork lifts every 8 years 54.62 -54.6 --
(2)Flat-bed trucks every 8 years 210.02 -210.0 --
(1)Sack feed hopper every 21 &41 16.51 -16.5 --
LEVELIZED ANNUAL PAYMENT FOR CAPITAL REPLACEMENT 148.5 31.6 20.8 15.6
Source:Dames and Moore calculations.
1 Includes 10 percent add-on for shipping charges.
Includes 5 percent add-onfor shipping charges.
EXHIBIT 11
SUMMARY OF ANNUAL EQUIPMENT AND OPERATOR REQUIREMENTS FOR ALTERNATIVE A
No.of Equipment --Annuall No.of Annual Manhours
Units Type Operating Hrs/Unit Operators per Operator
At Pier
1 Crane 310 1 392
1 D-6 Cat,on barge 310 1]392
1 Conveyor 310 3 392
2 20-ton dump trucks 580 4 906
1 Front-end loader 1,450 2 906
At Plant
1 D-6 Cat,grading stockpiles 1,760 1 2,080
2 20-ton dump trucks 1,267 4 792
1 Fork-1lift 867 1 1,084
1 Sack-hopper "me 1l 1,970
2 Flat-bed trucks 650 2 1,300
1 Front-end loader 854 1 1,066
At Cargo Dock
1 Fork-lift 778 --2 --
Source:Dames &Moore calculations
1 Projections are for fuel consumption only.Various items such as trucks will be in
use during loading activities,but are not expected to be consuming fuel during these
periods.
2 Operated by truck driver.
EXHIBIT 12
ANNUAL OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
(in thousand of 1982 dollars)
Hours Hourly Total Cost Pier Sack Bulk Plant
Labor Annually Wage Fixed Variable Fixed Var Fixed Var Fixed Var Fixed Var
Operator
Supervising Foreman 2080 $50 $104.0 52 20.8 20.8 10.4
Assistant Foreman 2080 29 60.3 30.1 12.1 12.1 6.0
Clerical 2080 20 41.6 20.8 8.3 8.3 4.2
Crane Operator 392 28 $11.0 11.6 ---
(4)Conveyor Laborers 392 ea.25 29.4 29.4 ---
Dozer Operator at Pier 392 28 11.0 11.0 ---
Dozer Operator at Plant 2080 ea.28 58.2 30.8 --277.4
(2)Dump Truck Drivers 169§ea.23 156.2 83.4 -72.8 -
Front-end Loader Operator 2878 28 80.6 -50.8 12.1 17.7 -
Fork-lift Operator at Plant 1084 28 30.4 -30.4 --
(2)FPlat-bed Truck Drivers 1300 ea.23 59.8 -59.8 --
(8)Sack Hopper Laborers 1970 ea.25 514.8 541.8
TOTAL LABOR COSTS $205.9 $978.4 102.9 216.4 41.2 644.1 41.2 66.8 90.5 27.4
Fuel and Electric Consumption
Hours Equipment Total Cost Variable Costs
Item Annually Unit Size Fixed Variable Pier Sack Bulk _Plant
Crane 310 310 hp --$9.8 9.8 ---
Conveyor 310 150 hp - 4.8 4.8 ---
Dozer @ Pier 310 140 hp --4.4 4.4 ---
Dozer @ Plant 1760 140 hp --25.2 13.3 --11.9
(2)Dump Trucks 3694 250 hp -- 94.4 29.6 -64.8 -
(1)Front-end Loader 2304 200 hp --47.1 29.6 7.1 10.4 -
(2)Fork lifts,gasoline 1645 125 hp --24.0 -24.0 --
(2)Flat-bed Trucks 1300 250 hp 33.2 -33.2
$o $242.9 91.5 64.3 75.2 11.9
Miscellaneous Materials
Total Cost Variable Costs
Item Quantity Cost/Unit Fixed Variable Pier Sack Bulk Plant
Pallets 4,333 $30 -$130 -130.0 --
Burlap Sacks 520,000 $.50 --260 -260.0 --
$390 390.0
;
Total Cost Pier Sack Bulk Plant
Maintenance Fixed Variable Fixed Var Fixed Var Fixed Var Fixed Var
4 percent of capital material costs $50.9 $50.9 37.8 37.8 6.2 6.2 3.9 3.9 3.0 3.0
Insurance
2 percent of capital material costs $50.9 $0 37.8 -6.2 -3.9 -3.0 -
Overhead and Administration
27-1/4 percent of total operating and $83.8 $452.9 48.6 94.2 14.6 301 13.4 46.2 7.2 11.5
maintenance costs TT
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING &MAINTENANCE COSTS $391.5 $2115.1 227.1 439.9 68.2 1405.6 62.4 215.8 33.8 53.8
EXHIBIT 13
LEVELIZED ANNUAL COSTS FOR COAL TRANSPORTATION WITHIN BETHEL
($Thousand 1982)
Pier to Power Plant Sacked Coal Bulk Delivery Coal for Power Plant
Component Fixed Variable Fixed Variable Fixed Variable Fixed Variable
Levelized Initial
Capital Investment!113 -13 -8 -6 -
Levelized Annual
Replacement Costs2 149 -32 -21 -16 -
Annual Operation &Maintenance Costs3
Labor 103 216 41 644 41 91 21 27
Fuel -92 -64 -75 -12
Sacks &Pallets ---390 ----
Maintenance 38 38 6 6 4 4 3 2
Insurance 38 -6 -4 -3 3
Overhead 49 94 15 301 13 46 7 ll
TOTAL ANNUAL O&M 228 440 68 1405 62 216 34 53
TOTAL ANNUAL
LEVELIZED COST 490 5.065 113 54.035 91 5.68>56 2.305
LEVELIZED
COST PER TON4 10.69 58.38 8.08 4.74
LEVELIZED COST PER TON 69.07 18.77 15.43
_CINCLUDING PIER COSTS)
Source:Dames &Moore calculations
1 See Exhibit 10
2 See Exhibit 11
3 See Exhibit 10
4 Assume 50,000 tons across dock,of which 20,000 tons are sacked,20,000 delivered in bulk,and
10,000 used in electrical gengration.5 variable costs expressed in $/ton,not $1000.
EXHIBIT 14
COST OF TRANSPORTATING COAL AND DIESEL
FROM BETHEL TO SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
Diesel Cost/Diesel Cost/
Distance 10,000 Btu 14,000 Btu
From Cost/Gallon Ton Equiv Ton Equiv
Bethel Cost/Ton of Diesel of Coalt of Coal2
Village (Miles)(S/Ton)($/Gal)(S/TE1)($/TE1)
Akiachak 28 36.60 0.180 25.96 36.34
Akiak 30 40.80 0.185 26.68 37.35
Amaut luak 28 36,80 0.190 27.40 38.36
Eek 653 64,40 0.190 27.40 38.36
Kasigluk 68 56.80 0.190 27.40 38.36
Kwethluk 20 32.20 0.175 25.23 35.33
Napakiak 12 28.60 0.175 25.23 35.33
Napaskiak 6 24.20 0.165 23.79 33.31
Nunapitchuk 68 56.80 0.190 27.40 38.36
Oscarville 6 24,20 0.165 23.79 33.31
Tuluksak 60 48.60 0.185 26.68 37.35
Tuntutuliak 62 56.80 0.185 26.68 37.35
Source:United Transportation,Jack,Turner,personal communication,
8/16/82,and Dames &Moore calculations.
This column compares the cost of transporting diesel to the cost of
transporting an equivalent amount of energy from coal,assuming that
the coal is 10,000 Btu/pound.
2 Same as Note 1,but assuming coal at 14,000 Btu/pound,.
Distance is river mileage as quoted by United Transportation,
EXHIBIT 15
NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL,PUBLIC,AND COMMERCIAL
BUILDINGS IN THE BETHEL AREA
Number of Public
Number of and Commercial
Community Residences!Buildings
1981 2002 1981 2002
Bethel 1,084 1,821 219 3684
Akiachak 88 176 11 23
Akiak 36 71 11 22
Amaut luak 47 81 9 16
Eek 56 94 7 12
Kasigluk>69 130 133 25
Kwethluk 87 168 8 16
Napakiak 60 102 15 25
Napaskiak 49 88 9 16
Nunapitchuk?60 119 123 23
Oscarville 12 25 4 8
Tuluksak 42 72 73 12
Tuntituliak 42 87 _7._14
TOTAL 1,732 3,034 332 580
1 The number of residences as reported by Darbyshire,6/17/82;
scaled up to match projected heating demands in year 2002
(Darbyshire,10/15/82).
Except as noted,the number of commercial/public buildings
are as reported in P.E.,1982;scaled up as in Footnote 1.
3 Public buildings count from maps contained in P.E.,1982;
scaled up as in Footnote l.
Obtained from Bethel Utilities for number of commercial
customers in Bethel;scaled up as in Footnote 1.
Estimated breakdown between Kasigluk and Nunapitchuk is in
proportion to the 2002 heating demand.
EXHIBIT 16
CAPITAL AND OPERATING COST FOR COAL FIRED SPACE HEATING systems!
($Thousand,1982)
Annual
Number of Total Capital Number of Total
Residential Capital Cost Replacement Type I Capital Cost
Location Systems!@ $1,200 ea @ 3%Systems!@ $2,500 ea
Bethel 1,821 2,185 66 332 830
Akiachak 176 211 6.3 21 52.5
Akiak .71 85 2.6 20 50
Amautluak 81 97 2.9 14 35
Eek 94 113 3.4 10 25
Kasigluk 130 156 4.7 23 57.5
Kwethluk 168 202 6.1 14 35
Napakiak 102 122 3.7 24 60
Napaskiak 119 143 4.3 14 35
Nunapitchuk 119 143 4.3 21 52.5
Oscarville 25 30 0.9 6 15
Tuluksak 72 86 2.6 10 25
Tuntutuliak 87 104 3.1 12 30
TOTAL FOR
STUDY AREA 3,065 3,677 110.9 521 1,303
TOTAL AT 80%
COAL SPACE HEAT 2,427 2,912 87.4 417 1,042
TOTAL AT 80%
SPACE HEAT
YEAR 19823 1,386 1,662 49.9 231 578
Total
'Capital Cost Total Annual
Number of Total Number of Total Commercial O&M and
Type II Capital Cost Type III Capital Cost &Public ReplacementLocationSystems!@ $50,000 ea Systemsl @ $200,000 ea Systems @ 10%
Bethel 34 1,700 12 2,400 4,930.0 493
Akiachak 2 100 --152.5 15.2
Akiak 2 100 --150.0 15.0
Amaut luak 2 100 -135.0 13.5
Eek 2 100 --125.0 12.5
Kasigluk 1 50 --107.5 10.7
Kwethluk 2 100 --135.0 13.5
Napakiak 1 50 --110.0 11.0
Napaskiak 2 100 --135.0 13.5Nunapitchuk150--102.5 10.2
Oscarville 2 100 --115.0 11.5
Tuluksak 2 100 --125.0 12.5
Tuntutuliak 2 100 --130.0 13.0
TOTAL FOR
STUDY AREA 53 2,650 12 2,400 6,353 635
TOTAL AT 80%
COAL SPACE HEAT 42 2,100 9.6 1,920 4,457 446
TOTAL AT 80%
COAL SPACE HEAT
YEAR 1982 33 1,640 9.6 1,920 4,138 414
Source:Dames &Moore calculations
1 From Exhibit 15.Based on year 2002 energy requirements
2 Operating costs do not include fuel cost.
3 Based on energy requirements for 1982 from Darbyshire &Associates,(6/17/82).
ALASKA AND NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS
EXHIBIT 17
Primary Secondary
Pollutant Averaging Time Standards Standards
Sulfur Dioxide Annual Arithmetic Mean 80 g/m3 -
24-Hourl 365 g/m3 -
3-Hourl -1,300 g/m?
Particulate Matter Annual Geometric Mean 75 g/m3 -
24-Hourl 260 g/m?150 g/m?
Carbon Monoxide 8-Hourl 10,000 g/m?-
1-Hourl 40,000 g/m?-
Ozone 1-Hour2 235 g/m3 -
Hydrocarbons 3-Hour!(6-9 a.m.)160 g/m3 -
Nitrogen Dioxide Annual Arithmetic Mean 100 g/m3 -
Lead Calendar Quarter Average 1.5 g/m3 1.5 g/m3
Source:BNA Policy and Practice Series,Bureau of National Affairs,
Inc.,State Air Laws:306.0501,Alaska,Sept.1982.
1 Maximum concentrations not to be exceeded more than once per year.
2 The standard is attained when the expected number of days per calendar
year with maximum hourly average concentrations above 12 ppm is equal to
or less than one.
EXHIBIT 18
ESTIMATED AMBIENT CONCENTRATIONS
UNDER A WEAK LAPSE RATE
DUE TO COAL-FIRED CONVECTION STOVES
IN BETHEL,ALASKA
Concentrations
Adjusted to StandardConditions*g/m Alaska &National Percentage of the Standard Consumed
Averaging @36,000 tons @54,000 Tons 677,000 Tons Ambient Air Quality @36,000 Tons @54,000 Tons @77,000 Tons
Pollutant Time per Year per Year per Year Standards g/m?per Year per Year per Year
Carbon Monoxide 8-hour 295 443 631 10,000 3
1-hour 295 443 631 40,000 1 1 2
Particulate Matter Annual 44 443 94 75 59 98 125
24-hour 66 66 141 260 25 38 54
150 44 66 94
(secondary)
Hydrocarbons 3-hour 66 99 144 160 41 62 88
Nitrogen Dioxide Annual 7 11 15 100 7 11 15
Sulfur Dioxide Annual 29 44 62 80 :36 55 78
24-hour 42 63 90 365 12 17 25
3-hour 42 62 90 1,300 3 5 7
(secondary)
Source =Dame &Moore'Calculations
*Standard conditions are an ambient temperature of 25°C and an atmospheric pressure of 760 torr.The
adjustment factor for wintertime conditions of 4°C and 750 torr at Bethel is 4 +273 x 760 2 0.9
25 +273 750