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Weathering the Storms

September 12, 2017 Nature has rudely interrupted a static Beltway debate about grid reliability and the need for baseload power. The series of powerful storms swept through sprawling cities and Caribbean villages, annihilating every structure in their path. For hundreds of thousands of people impoverished by nature’s fury is now added the lack of electricity. […]

Forest Service Backs Expansion of Colorado Coal Mine

Via The Olympian: The U.S. Forest Service is backing the expansion of Colorado’s largest coal mine over the objections of environmentalists. The Daily Sentinel reports that Forest Supervisor Scott Armentrout announced Thursday that that the benefits of expanding the West Elk Mine near Somerset outweighed the potential environmental threat. The mine got initial consent to […]

America’s Electricity Supply — Better Safe than Sorry

Via Fosters.com: Few things are more essential to the way we live than electricity. And yet few are more often overlooked than the electricity grid that supplies it. Most of us simply assume that the power needed to keep our AC going and the lights on will always be there, and at an affordable price. […]

Coal Critical to Power Future in Illinois

Via The Illinois Times: Electricity is easy to take for granted. But imagine the disruption to our lives if we could not charge our iPhones that connect us to the rest of the world or flip a light switch with the guarantee that power was at our beck and call. Power reliability, however, has been […]

Column: Include Coal in Energy Mix

Via The Detroit News: Michigan will continue to need electricity produced at coal plants in the years ahead for a number of reasons. One is that while renewable energy is making large advances, it will still require coal-fired plants due to the intermittent generation of wind and solar power. Another is that nuclear energy will […]

Montana Coal Mine Production Up 2 Million Tons

Via the Billings Gazette: Montana coal production is more than 2 million tons ahead of where it was this time last year, although analysts say the future is far from bright for the fossil fuel. Most of the production is coal mined from Spring Creek, a Cloud Peak Energy mine in southeast Montana. The Montana […]

Abandoning Coal Could Mean Blackouts for U.S. Power Grid

Via Lifezette:  There’s plenty of talk these days among energy advocates and environmentalists about the need for natural gas to replace coal as the workhorse producer for America’s daily electricity needs. And coal has undoubtedly been on the ropes in recent years, with both expanded natural gas production and a host of federal regulations cutting […]

Study Documents Coal’s Value for Baseload Power

The National Mining Association (NMA) today hailed a new report documenting the value of coal for ensuring the reliability and resiliency of the national power grid. The report, “The Contribution of the Coal Fleet to America’s Electricity Grid,” was prepared by PA Consulting Group for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), and documents […]

VP Pence Tells State Chamber ‘War on Coal is Over’

Via The Herald-Dispatch: Vice President Mike Pence came to the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 81st Annual Meeting and Business Summit at The Greenbrier and declared, “The war on coal is over.” Pence says President Donald Trump has rolled back many federal regulations that hurt West Virginia’s coal industry. “President Trump has signed more laws […]

Coal Uptick Boosting Show

Via The Bluefield Daily Telegraph: The number of exhibitors for the upcoming Bluefield Coal Show continues to grow, and an increase in coal production is cited as providing a positive impetus. Charles A. Peters, longtime chairman of the show, said the number has climbed to more than 190. “We are happy to share that exhibitors […]