‘Red Flags’ in Utah’s $53 Million Investment in Oakland Coal Port
‘Red Flags’ in Utah’s $53 Million Investment in Oakland Coal Port FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享Lee Davidson for the Salt Lake Tribune:Legislators approved a fund-swapping scheme Thursday to commit $53 million to help build a deep-water port in California in the belief the project will allow Utah to sell coal and other products overseas.Critics have called it a suspect “shell game,” and it has sparked an outcry from environmental groups in California and Utah that say such coal shipments would further global warming and question if there is a market for such exports.Rep. Joel Briscoe questioned the soundness of the project. “If this is such a great financial investment … where are the banks stepping up to fund this program?”Some industry observers also expressed puzzlement at the deal, saying the global market for coal is drying up and international shipments have sharply tapered.“Investing in a coal terminal is like building a stateroom on the Titanic after it hits the iceberg,” said Clark Williams-Derry, director of energy finance at the Seattle-based think tank Sightline Institute.He said Asia’s coal imports are dropping as India boosts domestic production and China turns to other energy sources. Meanwhile, Bowie Resource Partners, which controls more than half Utah’s coal production, lost its contract to supply Mexico’s Petacalco power plant in 2015.But King argued that China, for one, seeks the kind of clean, low-sulfur coal that Utah produces to help reduce pollution.He said if Utah somehow could meet all of its demand, China would reduce its power-plant emissions by half.Disagreeing is Tom Sanzillo, finance director for the Ohio-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “The bill has more red flags than a 10-car pileup at a NASCAR race,” because of the declining coal market, he said.Utah Legislature OKs $53 million cash swap to fund Oakland coal port