Coal: A Fuel Option for Both Community and Domestic Use | Cooperative expansion

Utqiagvik on the northern slope has used cheap, nearby natural gas. And remote villages like Kongiganak can use local wind for much of their local heat and electricity needs.

Away from the road network, however, many Alaska communities without nearby wind, gas and hydroelectric facilities have had to depend on when barges can arrive during inclement weather, ice formation or the timing of snow melt to obtain fuel oil for fairly expensive electricity generation. In some villages, only expensive cargo flights can deliver the liquid fuel.

But there is another resource that many remote communities have beneath or very close to their homes: coal. Over four dozen off-road communities lie on or near shallow underground deposits that can be mined on a small scale for local use.

In the mid-1990s, I was amazed when I sat down with maps unrolled by aging families of the Mat-Su colony that showed the crucial role that the Jonesville coal fields near Sutton played in the development of that area of statehood played. Coal was used not only to generate heat and electricity in the community, but also for transportation as the rail line to Seward used it.

In Alaska’s energy history, coal mining was big business on the Kenai Peninsula in the late 19th century, before gold rushers swept through. Until the First World War, naval ships also used coal.

In Palmer and Fairbanks, some older homes with daylight basements still have an outdated metal coal door leading to a shaft for direct supply to the home’s furnaces, which may have been removed decades ago. Today, Interior residents can still drive to Healy and purchase a ton of heating coal themselves for less than $100, or they can purchase it in Fairbanks with pickup.

I’ve even had conversations with residents who pick up chunks of coal from south-central banks as they erode on the banks of rivers and coastal bluffs, much like homeowners pick up logged wood from forests

Not only is coal a readily available fuel option for much of Alaska, it also does not pose the risk of flammable liquid spills like fuel oil tanks, nor does it pose the possibility of radiation release like nuclear power.

In addition, co-fired boilers can efficiently gasify both firewood and coal, alleviating some of the public concerns about carbon emissions, while also providing heat to the home via water radiators or underfloor heating.

However, if you want to work with a solid fuel type and without co-combustion, then a ton of coal provides 15,120,000 to 18,704,000 Btus and spruce/birch 15,900,000 to 20,300,00 Btus per cable (and it is 2.1 to 2, 3 tons). Wood, contained in a string), charcoal generally gives off about twice the Btus per ton as spruce/birch. (Btus are standardized units of energy used to compare heat values).

If you need help calculating or comparing energy production or heater availability across Alaska, please call me at 907-474-6366 or email me at [email protected]. I’ll see how I can help you!