Coal in the News

07Jul

Are the California and Texas Blackouts Coming to Your State?

Via The Tribune-Democrat: It’s not yet July, but the power grids in Texas and California are struggling to keep the lights on and the air conditioners running. Texas utilities have already asked residents to conserve electricity in the face of soaring demand. And California officials have issued alerts asking residents to cut usage in order […]
01Jun

Is America’s Electric Grid Ready for the EV Revolution?

Via The Geeley Tribune: America’s energy future will be shaped to a significant degree by two new tensions that are rapidly converging. A massive number of electric vehicles (EVs) will soon be populating our roads, but our nation’s electric grid is woefully unprepared to supply the additional capacity required to fuel these vehicles. Even this […]
29Mar

Appalachian Coal Will Fuel America’s Recovery

Via The Wheeling News-Register: Tens-of-millions of Americans are now vaccinated and millions more will be very soon. The U.S. appears to be turning the corner on the pandemic, and as we shift from just trying to hold the economy together to rebuilding and recovery, Appalachian miners are poised to take center stage. Thermal coal has […]
24Mar

Study Says Coal is Still a Major Player in WV Economy

Via West Virginia MetroNews: Although the state’s coal industry has shrunk drastically in recent years, the West Virginia Coal Association touted  a new study which maintained the industry , along with coal fired power plants, are still a major economic driver in West Virginia’s economy. “We commissioned the study, but it was done by the […]
09Mar

Coal, Steel Play Important Roles in US

Via the Duluth News Tribune: We need coal. When the ore or taconite leaves the Iron Range, it goes to the steel mills. At the mills, ore (iron oxide) is put into the blast furnace along with coke and limestone. Coke is processed from coal to remove impurities. When heated in the blast furnace, a […]
08Mar

Build it Back with Appalachian coal

Via The West Virginia State Journal: Tens of millions of Americans are now vaccinated, and millions more will be very soon. The U.S. appears to be turning the corner on the pandemic, and as we shift from just trying to hold the economy together to rebuilding and recovery, Appalachian miners are poised to take center […]
03Mar

In the Wake of the Texas Power Crisis, Voters Want the U.S. to Maintain Fuel Diversity to Support Reliability

The National Mining Association (NMA) today released polling that shows seven in 10 voters – including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents – support maintaining baseload, on-demand power plants, such as coal plants, to support the reliable supply of electricity. The polling was conducted by Morning Consult, Feb. 25-27, 2021, of 1,980 registered voters and carries […]
25Feb

We Need Innovation and Reliable Energy

Via The Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage IBEW business manager Dave Reaves recently declared that because of climate change, Alaska needs to move away from using many traditional energy resources that it has relied on for decades. Interestingly, Reaves said little about the economic devastation this would cause in Alaska and throughout the nation. President Joe Biden’s decision […]
23Feb

Texas Power Crisis Puts Spotlight on Reliable Electricity

Via Inside Sources: The nation is watching Texas with great concern. Some four million Texas households went without electricity in sub-zero temperatures on Tuesday. Ordinarily, such winter power outages come when snowstorms knock down trees and power lines. In this case, however, the problems actually stem from an overwhelmed electricity grid that hasn’t been able to keep up […]
22Feb

Blackouts Reveal Endemic Problems in the Texas Power Market

Via DallasNews.com: Now that the Texas deep freeze is receding and electric power is being restored, the blame game is heating up. Gov. Greg Abbott has called for an investigation and resignations at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT, the state’s electric grid operator. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has asked two […]