30Apr

Speak Now or Forever Hold Your PR

Last week, while many watched with baited breath as EPA Administrator Pruitt was grilled at hearings on Capitol Hill – more for his travel preferences and security muscle than his policies – an important deadline came and went: the deadline for comment on the repeal of the so-called Clean Power Plan. And it’s ironic that, […]
26Apr

NMA Urges Decisive Repeal of the Costly Power Plan

The Clean Power Plan (CPP) is an enormously costly, agenda-driven regulation devoid of any congressional authorization or meaningful environmental benefit and must be repealed, advised the National Mining Association (NMA) today in comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The trade group representing U.S. coal, and mineral producers and mining equipment manufacturers urged EPA to […]
25Apr

Metallurgical Coal Exports Up Double-digits in 2017

Via The Pittsburgh Business Times: Not every part of the coal industry is hurting. While thermal coal has seen better days, metallurgical coal — the kind used in the steel-making process — has seen a strong uptick in production and sales. The boost in metallurgical coal is due in large part to the amount of exports, which […]
25Apr

When It Isn’t the Ships but the Fleet that Sinks

There’s a sudden change in the wind, and it isn’t spring. In the space of a week, far-sighted officials at FERC, at the Department of Energy and in Congress have shifted attention away from saving First Energy’s plants to saving the grid’s reliability. Under assault is the lazy assumption held by the “do-nothing” faction that […]
24Apr

Winning Victories for Coal Under Trump

Via The Hill:  Few American business sectors get as strong a defense from President Trump as the coal industry, both in his rhetoric and his policy. As a presidential nominee, he repeatedly pledged to work to revive coal’s fortunes, presenting himself as the “last shot for the miners.” “They want to be miners, but their jobs […]
20Apr

U.S. Coal Exports Increased by 61% in 2017

Via U.S. Energy Information Administration: Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Quarterly Coal Report, and U.S. Census Bureau The United States exported 97.0 million short tons (MMst) of coal in 2017, a 61% (36.7 MMst) increase from the 2016 level. Exports to Asia more than doubled from 15.7 MMst in 2016 to 32.8 MMst in 2017, although Europe […]
19Apr

As Coal Goes Global, US Should Encourage Advanced Technologies

Via The Charleston Gazette-Mail: It’s no secret that the Sierra Club and Greenpeace oppose coal-fired power plants. And in their newest report they happily cite a gradual decline in global coal plant construction. But a funny thing about their new report—they’ve inadvertently confirmed the futility of trying to regulate coal-generated electricity out of existence. In a […]
18Apr

Reduce Coal Emissions? “No” Say NGOs, “Yes” Say Voters

It’s too soon to be alarmed, but there may be an outbreak of common sense upon us.  Unless stopped by doctrinaire ideologues, recent signs of rare agreement on the energy front just might lead to actual progress. We refer first to the bipartisan support for “45Q” fossil energy technology tax credits. Then last week’s Senate […]
16Apr

Majority of US Voters Support Upgrading Coal Fleet

Via World Coal: A majority of US voters – 55% – believe the US government should take action to upgrade the ageing coal and nuclear fleet, according to a poll conducted by Morning Consult for the National Mining Association (NMA). Separately, when asked about high efficiency, low emission (HELE) technologies that are being used in new […]