Study finds hidden costs of coal

The health and environmental damages associated with coal fired power plants cost the U.S. $345 billion each year, according to a new study led by a Harvard University researcher.

The study found that if these costs were accounted for in the price of electricity, power form coal plants would cost three times as much as it does now, Reuters reports.

Coal-fired plants currently supply about 45 percent of the nation’s electricity, according to U.S. Energy Department data. Accounting for all the ancillary costs associated with burning coal would add about 18 cents per kilowatt hour to the cost of electricity from coal-fired plants, shifting it from one of the cheapest sources of electricity to one of the most expensive.

The estimate of hidden costs takes into account a variety of side-effects of coal production and use. Among them are the cost of treating elevated rates of cancer and other illnesses in coal-mining areas, environmental damage and lost tourism opportunities in coal regions where mountaintop removal is practiced and climate change resulting from elevated emissions of carbon dioxide from burning the coal.

Coal releases more carbon dioxide when burned than does natural gas or oil.

Despite the high environmental costs, last week Michigan issued a permit for a new 78 megawatt coal plant planned by the Holland Board of Public Works.