By Michael Tian | 08-20-10

2010 has been an interesting year, to say the least, for the United States coal industry. We think coal miners’ fundamentals have generally improved dramatically since last year, shaped by several powerful trends in the U.S. and Asia. However, we are also likely to see an accelerated deterioration in the iconic Central Appalachian basin for the next several years, shifting economic rents toward players in more prolific and lower-cost regions.

Last year was a terrible one for the coal industry. Demand fell around an unprecedented 10% for the year. The coal industry was ill-prepared for such a drop, and inventories ballooned in response. This inventory overhang, along with weak natural gas prices and economy, were the primary overhangs on coal companies in late 2009. However, recent events have alleviated these worries greatly.

Read more at http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=348532

August 20, 2010 by Ken Ward Jr.

Earlier this week, we posted an Associated Press project about coal-fired power plants that reported:

Utilities across the country are building dozens of old-style coal plants that will cement the industry’s standing as the largest industrial source of climate-changing gases for years to come.

One thing that struck me was how much this report differed from previous information made public by the Sierra Club and its Beyond Coal Campaign:

Americans can breathe easier today as Intermountain Power’s coal plant in Utah became the 100th new coal plant to be prevented or abandoned since the beginning of the coal rush in 2001. In their place, a smart mix of clean energy solutions like energy efficiency, wind, solar and geothermal has stepped up to meet America’s energy needs.

Read more at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2010/08/20/friday-roundup-aug-20-2010/

Safety article by Harold Hough

“We can be safe or productive, not both.” Unfortunately, that has been the attitude of some mine management for years. In their minds, the more effort spent on safety, the less on producing. That is an idea that has been proven false by Peabody’s coal operations in Powder River, Wyoming. These are some of the safest and most productive mines in America. In fact, The North Antelope Rochelle Mine – the largest and most productive mine in North America – shipped a new industry record of 97.5 million tons of compliance coal in 2008 while remaining a recognized safety leader in the industry.

Read more at http://www.minersnews.com/AugSept10/ProdSafety.html

Aug 20 2010 7:15PM — KXMCTV Minot

New Energy Legislation may help the coal industry fire up efficiency.

Today Senator Kent Conrad met with management from Minnkota Power Cooperative to discuss the future of North Dakota’s coal industry.

Read more at http://www.kxnet.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=617877

Editorial Board, NY Times – Published: August 20, 2010

It is now possible to imagine the beginning of the end of a ruinous form of mining called “mountaintop removal.” Local opposition is growing, and the Environmental Protection Agency is tightening rules and threatening to veto one of the largest projects ever proposed.

Enormous harm has already been inflicted on Appalachia’s environment, most acutely in West Virginia. Mountaintop mining involves blasting the tops off mountains to expose subsurface coal seams. The coal is trucked away, but the debris is dumped over the side into the valleys, forests and streams below. As many as 2,000 miles of clear-running streams have been poisoned or buried in this fashion.

Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/opinion/21sat3.html

Thomas Spencer – The Birmingham News – Thursday, August 19, 2010

The Alabama Surface Mining Commission heard from both opponents and supporters of a proposed strip mine on the Mulberry Fork of Warrior River Thursday night at a hearing on the campus of Bevill State Community College in Sumiton. About 250 people attended.

The commission is considering an application by a mining company for the first 286-acre phase of a 1,773-acre mine at Shepherd Bend. The mine is across the river from the Birmingham Water Works intake on the river and the mine would discharge into the river upstream of the intake.

Read more at http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/08/alabama_surface_mining_commiss_1.html

August 19, 2010 07:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A Senate appropriations bill includes a key provision expected to advance a Montana Coal-and-Biomass-To-Liquids (CBTL) pilot project, which is projected to bring hundreds of new jobs to Montana and create new markets for Montana coal and camelina.

“research and development projects that would produce substantially higher quality fuels which would include greater carbon lifecycle requirements than conventional fuels and technologies”
Accelergy Corporation is developing the Montana CBTL pilot project, which would employ the most advanced clean coal and biomass conversion technology available to produce high-performance liquid fuel, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, from a combination of coal and biomass. It would do so in a way that efficiently captures greenhouse gas emissions, so that the greenhouse gas “footprint” is substantially lower than other coal-to-liquid technologies and than conventional petroleum refining.

Read more at http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100819005466/en’

Obama’s pledge to invest in energy research seems to have vanished from White House Web sites.

Read more at http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/the-case-of-the-missing-climate-pledge/

BY Terry Tamminen — 19 AUG 2010

…So last week, the Chinese central government ordered the closure of 2,000 highly polluting and energy-inefficient plants within 60 days. Eighteen industries were affected, including the building blocks of any economy — steel, paper, and cement. China is committed to improve energy efficiency some 20 percent by the end of this year (compared to 2005 levels) and is already about three quarters of the way to that goal. These closures — and shifting production to more efficient factories — will help it get the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, U.S. authorities may not have the power to simply close inefficient, polluting factories, but regulators are using other methods to keep up in the efficiency race. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced limits on mercury pollution from cement plants, for example, effectively saying the same thing to that industry as China did — become more efficient or shut down. In a few months, the EPA will expand these limits to the largest source of carbon pollution in America — coal fired power plants. These rules are added to the EPA’s recently proposed reductions in carbon emissions and, while limiting mercury and carbon not only creates environmental and public health benefits, it forces factories to become more efficient by eliminating those wastes….

Read more at http://www.grist.org/article/the-us-china-three-legged-race/

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Sandeep Ayyappan

The town that calls itself the “Energy Capital of the Nation” barely resembles even a small state capital, let alone the center of a massive industry. After a couple of hours of driving across the windy, wide open ranchland and fields of eastern Wyoming, I stumbled onto Gillette, a three-exit, twenty-thousand-and-some town just inside the state’s eastern border.

Although it’s tough to argue that this town is the energy capital, Campbell County just might be. Roughly half of America’s electricity comes from coal, and the top ten producing coal mines in the country (in 2008) were all located here in the Powder River Basin.

Read more at http://youandyourenergy.com/2010/08/19/gillette-wy-a-visit-to-a-coal-mine/