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China’s smog threatens health of global coal projects

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A choking smog across much of northern China threatens not just the health of local residents, but also of major coal projects globally that are still on the drawing board. Beijing’s plans to tackle pollution largely target coal-fired power, which will hit already slowing demand in the world’s top importer of the fuel. With China’s coal demand the primary driver for a slew of mine investments over the past decade, this trend could derail a list of capital intensive coal projects from Australia to Indonesia and Mozambique. Even without the environmental drive, new railways from mines to ports, falling investment in coal-fired generation and slowing power demand growth could see China’s miners export some of their surplus output at competitive prices, hitting regional miners and the viability of new projects. This is a major shift for a country that built an average of two coal-fired power […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US coal production rises more than 2% year on year, week on week

Washington (Platts)–14Nov2013/307 pm EST/2007 GMT US coal production totaled about 19.8 million st in the week that ended Saturday, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. This production estimate, based on railcar loadings, is 2.4% higher than the previous week’s estimate and 2.8% above output in the comparable week in 2012, EIA said. Coal production east of the Mississippi River totaled 8.1 million st while output west of the Mississippi totaled 11.7 million st, it said. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader Coal Outlook Platts Coal Trader provides:The latest prices for key benchmark coals Daily pricing for tons and allowances for SO2 and NOx emissions The exclusive Platts OTC Broker Index, a market assessment compiled from three of the largest and most respected coal brokers What happened in yesterday’s OTC markets, and why An analysis of coal price trends in all major U.S. producing areas Details […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Coal Displacing Nat Gas…Already

In January, 2012, the price of nat gas plunged to below $2/mcf due to overproduction by shale operators. Such low prices did, indeed, prompt utilities to switch from coal fired generation to natural gas fired generation if they had the capacity. Industry crowed that this was the shape of things to come with electricity costs plummeting for consumers and heralding the end of “King Coal”. Unfortunately, as with most aspects of unconventional shale production, this proved short lived and oversold. Glaring numbers show another picture altogether. Electricity generation from natural gas began to fade only months after it had gained ground in much the same way that shale gas wells fade only months after initial production. As gas prices moved up to trade between $3.50-4/mcf, utilities promptly began switching back to using coal for generation. According to EIA (Energy Information Administration): “During the first half of 2013…the price of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Poland, Wedded to Coal, Spurns Europe on Clean Energy Targets

BELCHATOW, Poland — They call it Poland’s biggest hole in the ground. The coal mine here is more than eight-and-a-half miles long, nearly two miles wide and as deep in parts as three football fields. Enough coal comes out of it to fuel Europe’s largest coal-fired utility plant, whose chimneys loom in the distance. “The entire world population could fit in this hole,” Tomasz Tarnowski, an administrator here, said in a bit of proud hyperbole as he led a group of reporters on a walk near a towering mound of brown coal about halfway into the mine. Poland is Europe’s coal colossus. More than 88 percent of its electricity comes from coal. Belchatow is one of its huge sources and the largest carbon emitter in Europe. (There’s no “belch” in Belchatow — it is pronounced bel-HOT-oof.) This month, a United Nations conference on climate change will be held in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple