Most people probably don’t realize the sheer amount of manpower it takes to get coal from the mine to powering the electrical outlet on your wall. But keeping coal moving is a good thing, as the coal chain generates employment opportunities for folks far beyond the coal industry.
For the transportation industry, coal is a vital job producer. Since coal must be sent to power plants to be converted into energy, it takes men and women to physically move the coal from one place to another.
Coal transport provides jobs today—and could generate even more in a clean energy economy. According to the World Coal Institute, “the way coal is transported to where it will be used depends on the distance to be covered.” And for a resource as crucial as coal, that distance can be global in scope.
Railroad and railway services: Energy companies rely on the country’s vast railway network to move around large quantities of coal. Conductors, engineers and highly specialized crews keep trains in motion while dispatchers on the ground ensure the safety of rail traffic.
Trucks: For shorter distances, truck drivers deliver raw coal directly to the utilities.
Port terminals: In order to export coal abroad, it has to be transported by sea. Flat-bottomed barges are pulled by tugboat captains and accompanied by harbor pilots until a barge safely makes it to the open water. That’s not to mention all the personnel – nurses, cooks, engineers, etc. – that travel with and provide services for the crew.
Shipping firms: Before coal can travel long-distance, it must be processed at a shipping company. Workers are on hand to load and unload crates, keep tabs on the coal’s tracking and logistics and send the coal to a warehouse until it can be picked up.
While clean coal technology is an important part of helping us meet environmental standards, it’s also important to the transportation industry. Commercial deployment of clean coal technologies will allow more people to keep and sustain gainful employment for years to come.
Stay tuned to Behind the Plug as we profile the kinds of jobs that will be provided by renewed investment in coal technologies.
