April 30, 2014

Despite yesterdays Supreme Court ruling upholding the authority of the EPA in regulating the smog from coal plants that drift across state lines, the U.S. Energy Department still believes that natural gas and coal will continue to remain the bulk provider of electricity for the United States.

It is estimated that by year 2040, coal will account for 32 percent of U.S. energy consumption and natural gas will account for 35 percent. Energy industry groups that represent the interests of the coal industry and others are threatening this push for renewable energy by the Obama administration through well financed lobbying in the Congress.

 Read article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-j-graeber/despite-green-energy-gain_b_5240283.html?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=Business

April 29, 2014

The Supreme Court today upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to place regulations on pollution caused from coal-fired power plants that are emitted from 27 Midwestern and Appalachian states. This is a major victory in reducing power plant pollution and highlights a decade long battle by the EPA to find a way to limit smog pollution that has been plaguing the eastern seaboard.

This ruling will require coal power plants to reduce their smokestack pollution in an effort to clean up air quality for downwind states. The EPA stated that this ruling would prevent more than 30,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of illness each year.

 Read article at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/us/politics/supreme-court-backs-epa-coal-pollution-rules.html?_r=1

April 24, 2014

After the devastating February 2^nd spill that released toxic sludge for over 70 miles on the Dan River, Duke Energy is under pressure to remove all coal ash that borders North Carolina’s rivers and lakes. Environmental groups are citing the need for Duke Energy to remove all of their coal ash to lined landfills in order to avoid the environmental degradation that occurred on the Dan River.

Duke Energy is alleging that this removal of coal ash would cost over $10 billion dollars and take decades to clean up. Furthermore, Duke Energy has stated that the majority of these costs for paying for coal ash clean up would come from its electricity customers.

 Read article at http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/duke-moving-coal-ash-cost-10-billion-23430364

April 22, 2014

After Montana and Wyoming endured one of the coldest winters in collective memory, the coal piles needed to fuel power plants has waned as coal train deliveries have struggled to provide reliable services. The Powder River Basin is home to the largest coalmines in the US and supplies huge amounts of coal throughout the US.

These shortages in coal deliveries has caused increased losses for utilities and threatens to be a continuing issue come summer peak season. The explanations for the delays in coal deliveries by the railroad have ranged from cold weather conditions to increased traffic as a result of the explosion in natural gas in the Bakken in combination with vast deposits mined in the Powder River Basin.

Read article at http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/rail-delays-hit-powder-river-basin-coal/article_f5119994-eb05-52a5-84ae-2a0e4c269b1b.html

April 21, 2014

The Powder River Basin in 2013 listed the top nine coal producing mines in the United States. However, the amount of mines in the Powder River Basin situated in the top twenty five highest producing mines shrinked as compared to twenty years ago.

The decline in the amount of Powder River Basin mines being in the top twenty-five is the result of large mining projects taking hold in New Mexico, Texas, Indiana and Ohio. Nevertheless, the scale of coal production in the Powder River Basin’s Black Thunder mine and the North Antelope Rochelle mine are the largest producing coalmines with growths as high as 400% since 1994.

 Read article at http://www.mining.com/web/largest-coal-mines-still-in-wyoming-but-us-is-diversifying/

April 18, 2014

Murray Energy Corporation stated Wednesday that the coal giant will no longer provide medical coverage for the over 1,200 retirees who worked for Consol Energy. Murray purchased Consol’s five West Virginia coal mines 16 months ago.

The termination of medical coverage will impact 1,200 former Consol Energy coal miners and 161 households in Pennsylvania alone. Murray Energy has cited this decision as a response to the struggling coal industry facing proposed regulatory reforms, legal actions and the growth of the Natural Gas industry.

Read article at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2014/04/18/what-next-for-murray-energy/

April 17, 2014

Rainforest Action Group, BankTrack and the Sierra Club today released a report that Barclays and Citigroup are the top funders for dangerous coal practices. Barclays has been cited as the top funder of mountain top removal while Citigroup comes in as the top funder for power utilities that burn coal for electricity.

The report also highlighted that JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. have significantly reduced the amount of funding for mountaintop removal. This is an improvement for JPMorgan which last year was cited as being one of the top funders of coal related projects.

 Read article at http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-04-17/barclays-and-citigroup-top-backers-of-u-dot-s-dot-coal-industry-s-worst

April 13, 2014

Forbes discusses the challenges faced by the coal industry in dealing with regulatory and legal battles that are likely to curtail expansion. With the boom in the natural gas industry, coal companies are facing decreased demand and the need to retrofit their operations to meet the upcoming carbon limits or shut down.

Companies such as Consol Energy are selling coalmines  (5 by Consol) in order to become more active in the natural gas market. Additionally major players in the coal industry (American Electric, Duke, First Energy and Southern) are being forced to shut down coalmines because of natural gas competition, regulatory carbon limits and upcoming legal battles.

 Read article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2014/04/13/coal-untouched-by-aprils-bloom/

April 10, 2014

National Geographic discusses the argument that clean coal is nothing more than a myth. The article discusses the idea of capturing the COâ‚‚ and how long can these deposits actually store the carbon dioxide.

There is evidence from leading Geophysicists that often, the injection of the carbon dioxide is put into reservoirs with brittle rock. This leads to small earthquakes, which cause cracking in the overlying shale rock and leads to COâ‚‚ leaking from the storage facilities.

 Read article at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/coal/nijhuis-text

April 8, 2014

Richmond, Va-based James River Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to restructure and save the Coal company’s declining business. The company has secured a $110 million dollar bankruptcy loan.

James River Coal stated that this decline for both James River and coal companies in the central Appalachian region is directly attributable to the new natural gas boom associated with fracing. The change to natural gas has led to a decline in the coal industry including mine closures and layoffs throughout Appalachia.

 Read article at http://www.marketwatch.com/story/james-river-coal-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-2014-04-07-18485718?link=MW_latest_news