The pros and cons of coal

Coal has been an essential resource on our nation’s electric grid for decades. But like all power supply options, it comes with its own set of strengths and challenges.

The following coal pros and cons illustrate why Minnkota Power Cooperative (our power supplier) maintains a diverse portfolio of coal, wind and hydropower — and why coal’s strengths outweigh its challenges.

Strengths

24/7 reliability 
Coal-fired power plants provide a stable and continuous source of electricity, which is important for maintaining a consistent baseload power supply. Minnkota’s Milton R. Young Station can produce coal-based power every minute of every day, as electricity needs to be used the moment it is generated.

Resilient operations
Coal-based power plants have consistently proven they can operate in extreme conditions – from 100-degree summer days to 30-below-zero winter nights. While resources like wind and solar are dependent on ideal weather conditions, coal-based power plants can operate through the harshest of conditions.

Economic strength
Dependable power generation leads to stable costs. North Dakota’s coal-based power plants provide competitively priced electricity that people across the Upper Midwest depend on. In North Dakota alone, the coal industry creates thousands of jobs in mining and power plant operations, and still more in those industries that support coal generation.

Concentrated land footprint
A 2020 report from the Brookings Institution foundthat electric generation from wind and solar requires at least 10 times as much land per unit of power produced than coal-based power plants. The concentrated nature of a coal power plant also means fewer transmission lines need to be constructed to bring electricity from generation point to substation.

Challenges

Emissions management
Coal-based power plants must manage emissions levels to ensure environmental stewardship. Approximately $425 million in state-of-the-art technology has been invested at the Milton R. Young Station to capture emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, particulate matter and more. Plus, Minnkota is pursuing Project Tundra, a carbon capture and storage system that would significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

Byproduct management
Generating electricity from coal requires the management of byproducts, like coal combustion residuals (CCR). Much of the bottom ash from the power plant is responsibly recycled into materials, including shingle grit and sandblasting material. CCRs that cannot be recycled are safely stored in approved storage cells. Plus, some CCRs can be reused safely to strengthen concrete, wallboard, bricks and more.

Temporary land disruption
While coal mining does require the use of land, Minnkota and its partners at BNI Coal have developed an award-winning land reclamation program that returns these areas to their natural state (or better) once mining is complete.