12Mar

Alabama Coal Industry Posts Record in Met Coal Exports

Via The Birmingham Business Journal:  Alabama’s coal industry posted a gain in 2018. According to the Alabama Coal Association, the state exported 11 million short tons of metallurgical (met) or “coking coal” last year. Valued at $2 billion, the met coal was shipped through the Port of Mobile to steel manufacturers in Europe, South America […]
12Mar

Can Colorado Go Completely Green?

Via The Gazette: The clean energy movement got a big jumpstart recently with the unveiling of the “Green New Deal.” And even as critics took aim at the plan’s broad agenda and massive price tag, individual states started announcing similar goals. Colorado in particular has moved to the fore, thanks to Gov. Jared Polis’ goal […]
11Mar

Coal Miners Gather at Capitol to Celebrate Passage of Bills

Via West Virginia MetroNews Coal miners gathered outside the Senate chamber Saturday morning to celebrate passage of two bills aimed at boosting the state’s coal industry. One bill offers severance tax incentives for companies to expand production. The other offers a phased severance tax break to steam coal, which hasn’t rebounded as well as metallurgical […]
08Mar

Don’t Take Fuel Diversity for Granted

Via The Tribune-Democrat: As U.S. production of liquefied natural gas continues to surge, America is poised to become the world’s third largest LNG exporter, trailing only Australia and the Middle East state of Qatar. Already, huge benefits from LNG commerce are playing out around the world. Growth in LNG exports is reducing our nation’s trade […]
06Mar

A Most Vital Technology

What technology does Fatih Birol, director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), believe is “most vital” to reducing emissions? Wind or solar power? Nuclear energy or energy storage? It is, in fact, carbon capture. Mr. Birol made his remarks last week in a joint press conference with U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Both are adamant […]
04Mar

Rick Perry Warns Energy Grid Faces ‘Major Test’ in Coming Polar Vortex

Via The Washington Examiner: Energy Secretary Rick Perry warned Thursday that a polar vortex descending on the U.S. in the first half of March will be a major test for the nation’s electricity grid from Montana all the way to his home state of Texas. “This is going to be a really deep, deep polar […]
01Mar

A Warning Not to be Ignored

How valuable is a balanced, diverse mix of energy sources? Just ask the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the grid operator that manages the electricity grid for much of the U.S. Midwest and parts of Canada. When the polar vortex hammered the Midwest at the end of January, the grid weathered the storm, but it […]
27Feb

Deep Freeze a Chilling Reminder We Still Need Coal, Nuclear Energy

Via The Duluth News Tribune: The stunning cold that swept the northern United States recently — and slammed Minnesota and the Midwest, in particular — was eye-opening for many Americans. It reminded us just how dependent we are on modern infrastructure for our survival. Nature is not always kind, and the depth of these Arctic […]
25Feb

Coal Power Still Gets NH Through Coldest Days of the Year

Via The New Hampshire Union Leader: New Hampshire will soon be home to the only coal-fired power plants left in New England, and the owner of those power plants says they will be burning coal for the foreseeable future. That’s not good news for environmental groups like the Conservation Law Foundation and Sierra Club, who’d […]
22Feb

Building a Better Future from West Virginia to India

The world’s population is racing towards 10 billion by 2050. It’s an astounding number that has huge implications for global energy use but also for material needs. As populations grow, urbanization is growing as well. A higher and higher percentage of us are living in cities. The United Nations reported last year that 55 percent […]