A front loader dumps a bucket of coal into the first of more than 700 trucks that will be used to transport coal from EM's Paducah Site to buyers.

PADUCAH, Ky.EM recently completed transferring ownership of nearly 15,000 tons of excess coal to the Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization (PACRO), which PACRO will use as a revenue stream to support economic development. 

   The excess coal is a result of the site’s switching from coal-powered boilers to five natural gas units to support site activities and heat offices during winter months. Switching to natural gas allowed EM to avoid costs associated with repairing and maintaining the 60-year-old steam plant and updating the facility to meet current environmental regulations — and in turn allowed the program to address sustainability requirements. The natural gas boilers are also scalable, allowing additional boilers to be added or removed as demand changes. 

   PACRO sold the coal to a coal distributor. Transportation of the coal off-site is underway and will require about 700 25-ton truckloads. Based on the EM and PACRO agreement, PACRO receives half of the sale’s proceeds, and the other half goes back to the U.S. Treasury after offsetting EM’s expenses related to the transfer. 

   “We appreciate the partnership with DOE, and we look forward to receiving surplus assets as they become available for the continued growth and prosperity of the region,” PACRO Executive Director Scott Darnell said. 

   Paducah Mayor Gayle Kaler, who chairs the PACRO board, echoed Darnell’s sentiments.

   “We’re excited to start seeing tangible financial opportunities for PACRO through our collaboration with DOE and the ongoing cleanup activities,” she said. 

   “Working with PACRO on this transfer and on other opportunities in the future will help move us forward in the cleanup of the site, while providing excess assets to support economic development in the community,” EM Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard said. “This is a win-win for DOE and the region.”