(The following story by Tim Johnson appeared on the Daily Nonpareil website on September 14.)
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Union Pacific Railroad lights up Iowa – indirectly.
The railroad delivers millions of tons of the coal that is used to generate almost 80 percent of the state’s electrical power.
The Walter Scott Energy Center in Council Bluffs uses 600,000 tons of coal a month, or 7.2 million tons a year, said Mark Reinders, spokesman for MidAmerican Energy Co.
“That’s a lot of coal,” he said.
Union Pacific moves miles and miles of coal trains out of Wyoming each day. In August, UP set a record for the number of coal trains moved out of Wyoming’s Southern Powder River Basin in one month, the company announced earlier this month. The railroad moved 1,190 loaded coal trains out of the basin, making it the best month on record and surpassing the previous record of 1,174 loaded trains set in July. That added up to 18.7 million tons of SPRB coal, surpassing the previous record of 18.2 million tons moved in July.
A record 50 trains were loaded on Aug. 10 to eclipse the previous record of 46 trains set on Nov. 29, 2007. With each train running 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 miles long, as estimated by UP spokesman Mark Davis, that’s 75 to 87.5 miles of railcars filled with coal – just on one day.
Union Pacific has loaded 476, or 5.8 percent, more SPRB trains through August compared to the same time last year.
“The percentage of our revenue from energy or moving of coal represents about 20 percent,” Davis said.
About 3,000 UP employees in the North Platte, Neb., area and 500 south of the Powder River Basin are involved in loading and moving the coal, when workers in administration, maintenance and other areas are included, he said.
On the Union Pacific/BNSF Joint Line, 2,197 trains were loaded in August, versus the previous record of 2,136 trains loaded in July. Loading 81 coal trains over the Joint Line on Aug. 16 surpassed the old record of 80 trains set on Nov. 4, 2007. An average of 70.87 loaded trains were loaded per day on the Joint Line in August, compared to 70.53 trains in November 2007. Through August, the Joint Line has seen an increase of 698 loaded trains, or 4.5 percent, from 2007.
“Our investments in the Joint Line (with BNSF) and throughout our coal network are paying dividends, in terms of our coal train velocity and throughput,” said Doug Glass, vice president and general manager for energy.
It is taking an increasing quantity of coal to fuel the state. From 2005 to 2006, Iowa’s consumption of coal rose from about 24.3 million short tons to 24.6 million, according to a chart on the federal Energy Information Administration’s Web site. Most of it – 21.2 million short tons – was used for the generation of electricity.
“(Demand) has continued to grow,” Davis said. “I think what it shows, by being able to handle the record volume, is the ability to move the coal trains efficiently in and out of Wyoming, which would include operations across Nebraska and Iowa. These efficiencies allow us to set these types of records.”
About 78 percent of Iowa’s electricity is generated from coal, while 10 percent comes from nuclear energy, 5 percent from natural gas, 4 percent from renewable fuels, 2 percent from hydroelectric power and 1 percent from petroleum.
Nationally, 49.9 percent comes from coal, 19.6 percent from nuclear, 19.3 percent from natural gas, 6.7 percent from hydroelectric, 1.1 percent from petroleum and 3.5 percent from other sources, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Union Pacific Corp. owns one of America’s leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country and serves the fastest-growing U.S. population centers. Union Pacific’s diversified business mix includes agricultural products, automotive, chemicals, energy, industrial products and intermodal. The railroad offers competitive long-haul routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways. Union Pacific connects with Canada’s rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major gateways to Mexico, making it North America’s premier rail franchise.