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WRIGHT, Wyo. - Herds of antelope graze amid the sage and short grasses of the rolling Thunder Basin National Grassland while 140-car trains rumble northward.

Each empty hopper soon will groan beneath 120 tons of coal carved from deep open pits and destined for electrical plants around the United States.

In environmental terms, this coal is the good stuff.

Unlike some eastern U.S. coal that contributed to acid rain, coal from the Powder River Basin is the cleaner burning, low-sulphur variety.

It has been in demand since commercial mining operations began in this region in the early 1970s. Today, the largest mine in the Powder River Basin, Black Thunder, is buzzing 24 hours per day, providing enough coal to produce 5 percent of the United States' electricity.

The entire Powder River Basin produces 36 percent of the nation's fuel for electricity.

Black Thunder coal rolls to Nebraska's generating plants and to hundreds of other plants across the nation, which depends heavily upon coal for electricity.

How long the demand for coal persists depends upon new energy technology and federal legislation.

"Cap and trade will be an issue for all mines and generating plants," said Lynn Nelson of Newcastle, who is a supervisor at Black Thunder.

The federal cap and trade legislation would cap greenhouse emissions, forcing energy users to employ expensive technology to clean up their act. For electricity, the cleaning bill could add from 30 percent to 100 percent to rates.

With cap and trade looming in the future, mines such as Black Thunder are contending with other concerns. The national economic slowdown has cut into the demand for coal. As manufacturers close down or slow down, so does the need for electricity.

Lower demand for energy means miners are spending more per ton to harvest coal than buyers are paying on the spot market.

Another threat to mining is the shortage of engineers and technical experts, Nelson said. "Kids are not going into mining anymore."

Despite the challenges, there's action around the clock at Black Thunder. Like postmen, miners aren't deterred by weather or dark of night - although thick fog can be a worry, said Dennis Lundvall of Gillette, a compliance crew technician.

Lundvall was among tour leaders who helped a group of 80 Nebraskans understand the ins and outs of open pit mining.

In a recent tour arranged by Nebraska Public Power District Board Members Ron Larsen of Kearney and Ed Schrock of Holdrege, the group learned more about the primary source of energy for Nebraska's electrical plants.

Coal-fueled plants generate about half the electricity in Nebraska, followed by nuclear, hydro, gas/diesel and wind. Nebraska also buys some electricity for outside suppliers, as the demand dictates.

Oil drillers discovered Wyoming's rich coal deposits, and miners began harvesting it in the late 1970s for shipment to other regions.

Nearly 35 years of mining at Black Thunder has extracted a swath about 24 miles square, but that's just a fraction of what's buried under Wyoming's rolling countryside. Some experts estimate 200 years worth of coal is still available.

Getting to that coal starts with massive draglines that remove more than 250 feet of overburden. Once the soil and rock is removed, loaders can begin chiseling away at the coal.

The seam at Black Thunder is about 70 feet thick. The black mine walls rise high above the 27-foot tall trucks that haul coal from the open pits to dumping stations. Conveyor belts carry the coal after it's dumped to a tall silo that loads 140-car trains at the rate of up to 20 per day.

Black Thunder is one of 15 mining operations in the Powder River Basin.

When the coal is mined, reclamation begins. Federal regulations require that open pits are refilled, and that topography and native vegetation match the hills and streams that preceded the mining.

"Reclamation is the most important part," Lundvall said. "This is where the deer and the antelope run, where our children will grow up."

e-mail to:

mike.konz@kearneyhub.com

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