TransAlta has a 1400 MW coal-fired power plant in Centralia, which burns 5.5 million tons of coal annually from the nearby mine. Combining data from Sasol and the National Energy Technology Laboratory, a CTL plant using this much coal would produce 50,000 barrels or about 1.5 million gallons of gasoline a day and continue to produce 750 MW with almost all pollution, especially mercury, removed.  The plant would cost about $2.5  billion dollars to convert, the mortgage on this would be about $450,000/day.  Labor costs would be $250,000 a day. O&M  would be about  $250,000 a day and profit to TransAlta would be about $250,000 a day.  If coal is $50/ton, with 15,000 tons/day used, or $750,000 a day in fuel costs, Total cost of production including profit to TransAlta would therefore be about $2 million a day. The economics favor such a plant assuming a contracted price for the fuel and electricity by    Seattle City light. This would encourage the modernization of this plant to promote a cleaner environment and local supply of synthetic gasoline equal to Seattle's daily consumption. The $2 million a day is made up by buying the gasoline  at $1.00 a gallon, or $1.5 million a day, and the electrical output for $28/MWhr, or $500,000/day.   The current wholesale market price of gasoline is $2.00 a gallon, and the wholesale market price of electricity is $60 per MWhr, so under current conditions, Seattle would make $1 million a day under current conditions. 

Eventually adding a direct carbon fuel cell stage instead of the coke boiler stage would double electrical output efficiency  from 40% to 80%, halving greenhouse gas per watt.  Assuming this  added $1.25 billion to the plant cost or $250,000 a day, since no additional fuel would be used, TransAlta would make an additional $250,000 a day, and Seattle would make another $500,000 a day at current market rates.

Sept 30., 2006 Nigeria and Venezuala to Cut Production by 200,000 barrels a day.