Tennessee among nation's biggest coal importers

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Tennessee ranks eighth among U.S. states in coal imports, spending $1.21 billion annually according to a Union of Concerned Scientists report. The TVA's Cumberland City plant is the state's most coal-dependent facility. The UCS argues that efficiency improvements and renewable energy development could redirect coal spending to local economic benefit.

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Tennessee is the eighth largest importer of coal in the country, according to a new report produced by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Tennessee is among 38 states that import more coal from other states and foreign sources than it produces, according to UCS' report titled "Burning Coal, Burning Cash." The group used U.S. Department of Energy data from 2008.

Of those 38 states, 11 public and private entities in those states spend more than $1 billion annually to import coal, the report states. Tennessee spent $1.21 billion in 2008.

Tennessee Valley Authority purchases most of the state's coal. It is used at several coal-burning facilities including TVA's plant in Cumberland City which accounted for $314 million of the $1.21 billion spent in 2008, according to UCS, making it the most coal-dependent plant in the state. TVA's Allen Fossil Plant near Downtown Memphis has three fossil units that burn a blend of imported low-sulfur coal.

UCS contends the coal purchasing funds would be better spent developing more energy efficient systems and renewable energy. The organization says just a 1 percent drop in electricity use annually would save consumers $54 million in coal import costs.

"When it comes to spurring local efficiency and renewable energy development, many of the biggest coal importers have the most room for improvement," Barbara Freese, a senior policy analyst in UCS's Climate Energy Program and a report co-author, stated in a release. "The regions most dependent on imports — the Midwest and Southeast — have some of the best wind and bioenergy resources in the country. They also have some of the greatest untapped potential to cut electricity use with efficiency programs that would lower electric bills and keep more dollars circulating in the local economy."

Most of the coal burned in Tennessee, nearly two-thirds, comes from Wyoming, West Virginia and Kentucky, the report stated.

States ahead of Tennessee that spend the most money to import coal include Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Alabama and Michigan. On a per resident basis, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are among the top five.