LNG plant to serve Alpha mine haul vehicles

Alpha Natural Resources said that Plum Energy will construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the property adjacent to Alpha Coal West’s Eagle Butte Mine, near Gillette, Wyoming.

The Plum Energy facility will supply LNG to Alpha Coal West’s mine haul vehicles, producing cost efficiencies and fuel savings for its mining operations.

Alpha Coal West began testing LNG technologies developed by GFS Corp. in trucks at the Belle Ayr Mine in 2012, beginning a pilot program of the world’s first LNG-powered mine haul trucks. After 18 months of daily operation, Alpha Coal West decided to proceed with the conversion to LNG of its 16 Caterpillar 793 haul trucks at the nearby Eagle Butte Mine. Alpha Coal West expects the alterations to the trucks, each of which is capable of hauling 240-tons of coal, or the equivalent of two railroad cars, to be completed by the end of 2014.

Plum Energy’s LNG plant at the Eagle Butte Mine, scheduled to come online in March 2015, will be able to produce 28,500 gallons of LNG a day. In addition, Plum Energy has designed an LNG refueling station that will be constructed on-site at Eagle Butte, which will be capable of refueling eight trucks simultaneously.

Alpha Coal West’s demand for LNG is expected to be about 6,400 gallons a day to fuel its trucks. As the plant grows, excess product can be sold to other companies in the area as they convert their haul trucks and other equipment to the lower emission and cost-efficient LNG.

Press Release, September 22, 2014; Image: Alpha Natural Resources