Blog

20May

As the Pandemic Unfolds, Voter Concern Over the Affordability of Electricity is Surging

U.S. unemployment is flirting with 25 percent. As the country tries to weather the COVID-19 storm and look forward to reopening and recovery, economic pain is front and center for millions of families. It’s no surprise then that a new poll conducted by Morning Consult found that nearly half of all registered voters (47 percent) […]
13May

In 2018 NERC Warned of a Reliability Crisis from Accelerating Baseload Retirements. It’s Here.

In 2018, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the organization that oversees the reliability on the North American electric grid, warned of the threat of accelerating losses of baseload sources of power. At the time, S&P Global Market Intelligence characterized the report by writing, NERC “warns that an accelerated retirement of coal-fired and nuclear […]
06May

Want to Re-Shore Industry from China? Don’t Overlook Affordable Energy

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has sowed immense uncertainty about the future, but it’s becoming clear that consensus is rapidly forming to bring manufacturing and essential supply chains home from China. Doing so is going to require a recommitment to economic competitiveness, and maintaining affordable, reliable energy will have to be top of the agenda. Difficulty […]
22Apr

Affordability, Reliability and Balance Matter More Now than Ever

Energy markets are in disarray. Look no further than oil prices slipping into negative territory for evidence of the chaos. We are only just beginning to understand the economic disruption wrought by a virus that has brought much of the global economy to a screeching halt. While the turmoil in the oil sector is plainer […]
20Apr

The Long Road Back to Balanced Rulemaking

There was no shortage of doomsday coverage of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to revisit the cost benefit analysis underpinning the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS rule). But in the same breath that outlets like The New York Times sounded the alarm about weakening regulations on the release of mercury, they also […]
16Apr

A Foundation for Recovery

This week, President Trump gathered a group of the nation’s CEOs on a call to chart a course for our economic recovery. Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, participated, bringing mining’s voice to the highest levels of government. Upon being named to President Trump’s “Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups,” Mr. […]
10Apr

An Essential Industry Caring for Its Employees and Its Communities 

The COVID-19 crisis is requiring herculean efforts from healthcare workers and first responders, sacrifices from every American, and it has turned the global economy upside down. But for those in essential industries, like mining, the work goes on in this “new normal” to provide the fuel, materials and equipment needed to keep the country going.  […]
31Mar

An Essential and Irreplaceable Industry Now and Tomorrow

Just this weekend, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reiterated the obvious: the mining industry, and its supply chain, are essential. From the minerals that are the building blocks of our world to the coal vital to manufacturing and electricity generation, mining and miners power America. DHS explicitly included mining in its list of 16 […]
25Mar

Keeping the Lights on is Essential Work

It would be difficult to find a piece of “news” coverage more out of touch with communities across our country than The Washington Post’srecent article questioning the essential nature of coal mining. From his perch in Washington, D.C., the writer brushes off coal’s contributions to the grid noting that “coal provides less than a quarter […]