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The Port of Duluth-Superior is located at the mouth of the St. Louis River on Lake Superior. The port is sometimes called the "Twin Ports" because it consists of port facilities in Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. The Port of Duluth-Superior is considered the largest freshwater port in the world.[1] It transports coal from Montana and Wyoming to utilities and manufacturing plants on the Lower Great Lakes. It is operated by the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.[2]
The Superior Coal Terminal, one of the largest coal-processing terminals in the United States, is part of the Port of Duluth-Superior, located on the Wisconsin side of the St. Louis River.
Location
The map below shows the 5 operating coal terminals at the Port of Duluth-Superior, with two in Minnesota and three in Wisconsin. The large storage pile at the Superior Coal Terminal can be clearly seen in the center of the map.
Background
The Port of Duluth-Superior has been processing coal since 1871. In the 1990s, the port handled 123 million short tons of coal, and between 2000 and 2010, the port handled 171 million short tons. Coal traffic peaked in 2008 at 20 million short tons and has declined steadily since then, with 7.3 million short tons handled in 2019 and 4.8 short tons handled in 2020.[3]
Most of the coal handled by the Port of Duluth-Superior is mined in the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming and shipped from the port to coal-fired power stations in the Great Lakes region. Declines in coal volume have been driven by closures of power stations that once received coal shipments from the Port of Duluth-Superior, such as Nanticoke power station and Taconite Harbor Energy Center.[4]
There are five coal terminals operating at the Port of Duluth Superior. The largest by far is Midwest Energy Resources Company's Superior Coal Terminal, which has an annual capacity of 25.5 million tons (approximately 23.13 million metric tonnes). The C. Reiss Terminal, Hallett Dock 8, and Wisconsin Central Ltd./Hallet Dock 5 each have capacity of 800,000 short tons (approximately 726,000 metric tonnes). The Graymont LLC Superior Terminal mostly handles lime, but can process coal as well.[5][6]
In 2020, C. Reiss announced its intention to move its Duluth-Superior coal-handling facilities from the current Duluth location to a dock in Superior, just northeast of the Midwest Energy Resources terminal. The total cost of the move is estimated at US$21 million. C. Reiss is asking for nearly $10 million in state and federal aid to help pay for the project.[7]
Project Details
- Operator: Duluth Seaway Port Authority
- Location: Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin
- Capacity (Million metric tonnes per annum): 25.4
- Status: Operating
- Type: Exports
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ Duluth MN-WI Metropolitan Area, Wikipedia, Accessed Sep. 2021
- ↑ "Stats," Duluth Seaway Port Authority.
- ↑ DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR STATISTICS, Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Jan. 2021
- ↑ Walker Orenstein, As energy use changes in the Great Lakes, so too does the Port of Duluth-Superior, MinnPost, Apr. 28, 2020
- ↑ Port of Duluth-Superior, BNSF, Accessed Sep. 2021
- ↑ Cargo and Trade, Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Accessed Sep. 2021
- ↑ Brooks Johnson, Duluth coal terminal planning move to Superior, Star Tribune, July 8, 2020
