Category:

Natural Gas is Killing Coal

There’s no denying that natural gas is revolutionizing our energy economy, but few believed it could deal such a swift death blow to coal, the commodity that brought us into the Industrial Revolution and has been our backbone ever since. But the signs are irrefutable. Here’s what you need to know. A historic battle Coal and natural gas have been going at it for a while. Traditionally, these were actually complementary energy sources. As a cheaper fuel that was more difficult to manage, coal-fired generation plants were the “slow burners” that kept our energy capacity steady throughout the day. Relatively expensive and more malleable natural gas-fired power plants served as the “pinch hitters” that powered up during peak hours when we needed that extra bit of juice. Today, things look a bit different. Natural gas and coal are no longer complements: natural gas has become a substitute for coal. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal mining must continue, no matter what the human costs

This post was inspired by a recent article about coal mining in India by David Rose in the Guardian about coal mining. In India, people are dying in the streets because of excessive heat caused by global warming, but Rose reports that “ …across a broad range of Delhi politicians and policymakers there is near unanimity. There is, they say, simply no possibility that at this stage in its development India will agree to any form of emissions cap, let alone a cut. ” In other words, coal mining must continue in the name of economic growth, no matter what the human costs.I think it is hard to see a more evident example of the senility of the world’s elites. It is, unfortunately, not something that pertains only to India. Elites all over the world seem to be nearly totally blind to the desperate situation in which we all […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Huge drop in West Virginia coal production forecast

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University researchers predict that state coal production will drop 39 percent compared with the industry’s last high point in 2008 – less-than-encouraging news for more than 1,800 coal miners who learned last week they would likely lose their jobs. Already-struggling southern coalfield counties would bear the brunt of the industry’s downturn, with an expected 29 percent production drop in 2035, compared to 2014. The dwindling coal industry has ravaged that region with job losses, and has even necessitated cuts to government services. The report rattles off a combination of familiar economic, geological and regulatory challenges: weak export demand; less use of coal for electricity amid competition from natural gas; changes in emissions rules for power plants; and worsening geological conditions that make extracting southern West Virginia coal less productive. The dismal projections don’t even account for a federal proposal to stem carbon emissions […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal-Fired Power Plant Loses Steam

ENLARGE Southern Co.’s $6.2 billion coal-fired power plant near Meridian, Miss., lost a utility partner, raising the stakes for the project and resulting in a request for higher power rates to help pay for the project. Photo: GARY TRAMONTINA/BLOOMBERG NEWS The future of the most expensive fossil-fuel power plant built in the U.S. is facing new pressures after a Mississippi utility backed out of its commitment to the clean-coal project. South Mississippi Electric Power Association, which furnishes power to smaller utilities in the state, dropped its plan to buy a $600 million, 15% stake in the project spearheaded by Atlanta-based Southern Co. SO -0.35 % , citing construction delays. Southern, in turn, notified state regulators that it may have to raise electricity rates for Mississippi power customers by 41%, or $37 a month for the typical household, to pay for the project. South Mississippi Electric Power’s move deals a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal’s Worst Fears Affirmed in Analysis of Obama Climate Plan

Emissions rise as a U.S. flag flies at a coal-fired power plant in Winfield, West Virginia. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg A new government analysis of President Barack Obama’s signature effort to fight climate change affirms what critics suspected: the proposal could further weaken an already battered coal industry. Electricity generation from the carbon-intensive fossil fuel would fall by 90 gigawatts, more than twice the decline government analysts had predicted as recently as April, according to a report released Friday by the Energy Information Administration. Most of the coal-plant closures would come by 2020, when the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to cut carbon dioxide emissions would kick in. Consumers may also take a hit as electricity prices would increase as much as 7 percent on average by 2025, partly because of the costs of building new power plants. “In short, EIA confirms EPA’s rule is all pain, no gain — a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Alpha Natural to Lay Off 439 at West Virginia Coal Mine

By John W. Miller Coal miner Alpha Natural Resources Inc. on Friday said it plans to lay off 439 miners at a mine in south-central West Virginia. Murray Energy Corp., another big Appalachian miner, is planning to lay off around 1,800 workers, mostly in Ohio and West Virginia, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Like Murray, Bristol, Va.-based Alpha is reeling from competition from the natural gas industry and its less expensive energy for power plants, and from a global coal glut and tougher environmental regulations in the U.S. The layoffs will affect workers at the Camp Creek underground coal mine and processing plant in Camp Creek, W.Va. In addition, the company said it had downsized its workforce at three other Alpha-affiliated mines in Kentucky and Virginia, affecting 71 workers. Alpha Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin Crutchfield called current market conditions "an unprecedented time in the coal industry." His […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Murray Energy to Lay Off Around 1,800 Workers

ENLARGE The planned layoffs at Murray Energy will come mostly from its mines in West Virginia and Ohio. Photo: Jeff Swensen for The Wall Street for The Wall Street Journal Coal miner Murray Energy Corp. is set to announce layoffs of around 1,800 workers at nine locations on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter, dealing another blow to the coal-mining industry in Appalachia. The planned layoffs, which represent about 21% of Murray’s workforce, will come largely at mines in West Virginia and Ohio, a region already reeling from the impact of abundant natural gas and a global coal glut. Robert Murray, the 75-year-old founder and chief executive of the company, made the decision Wednesday after a 12-hour meeting with operations managers, according to the person familiar with the matter. The company decided to make much bigger cuts than it had previously been considering because of growing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US weekly coal carloads drop to lowest total in 120 weeks: AAR

US railroads originated a new year-low volume of coal carloads for the week ending May 16, marking the lowest total in 120 weeks, according to data released Wednesday by the Association of American Railroads. The AAR reported a total of 93,664 coal carloads, down 27 carloads week over week from the previous year-low of 93,691. It was the lowest reported coal volume since 87,371 carloads in the final week of 2012 and sixth time in only 19 weeks this year that volumes fell below 100,000. The last year weekly coal carloads last fell below 100,000 more than six times was 1989 when it happened seven times, including in back-to-back intervals in the 51st and 52nd weeks of the year. Volumes did not fall below 100,000 in any week of 2014 and were sub- 100,000 in only three weeks in 2013. Weekly coal carload totals were below 100,000 five times […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Duke To Build Natural Gas Power Plant, Retire Coal Plant

Duke said the new 650-megawatt plant will allow it to capitalize on low natural gas prices and cut its carbon dioxide emissions by about 60%. The plant would also be about 35% cheaper to operate than the 376-megawatt coal plant, based on current natural gas prices. Duke said the key parts of the plan, which also includes building a $320 million transmission substation in South Carolina, should be completed by the end of 2019. Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke operates utilities that serve more than seven million customers in the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Duke in February agreed to settle charges that it violated the federal Clean Water Act by spilling coal ash into the Dan River in North Carolina last year, and said it would pay $102.2 million in penalties and restitution. The deal with federal investigators includes a five-year probationary period with a court-appointed monitor to ensure […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China Fires Away at Coal Power

Operators of coal-powered plants in China are in an uncomfortable position. ENLARGE Photo: Hao Tonqian/Xinhua/Zuma Press China is planning the biggest overhaul of its power industry in over a decade. And the scope for upheaval is biggest at companies that depend on coal, such as China Resources Power. In the past two months, China’s top planning body has published multiple documents stressing that market forces should decide how electricity is generated, transmitted and distributed. Specifics are still missing, and internal contradictions still rife—the documents, for instance, push renewable energy that currently survives by government rules that subvert market forces. But if enacted, these ideas would mark the next step in electricity reform after Beijing in 2002 cleaved transmission and distribution away from generation. In theory, that allowed generation companies to compete, though in practice Beijing dictated electricity prices. Now, the planners seem to want power generators free to set […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Power generation from coal and natural gas expected to temporarily converge this spring

Republished May 14, 2015, 2:00 p.m. to correct an error in the graph EIA’s most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that the amount of electricity generation fueled by natural gas in April and May will total just 3.5% less than the projected amount of coal-fired generation. This convergence has occurred only once before, in April 2012, when natural gas fueled just 1.5% less generation than coal. Power generation from the two fuels is expected to rise at similar rates over the next couple months, and then diverge again later in the summer as demand rises and coal unit capacity utilization continues to rise. Natural gas-fired generation has been rising over the past few months, as the cost of natural gas has fallen to levels not seen since 2012 . These low fuel costs have made natural gas combined-cycle generating units in some areas of the country cheaper to operate […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Weekly US coal production slides for 12th straight week: EIA

Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 16 million st in the week ended April 9, the lowest full-week estimate in the last five years, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday. The estimate — 16,029,316 st — is down 7.7% from the prior week’s estimate and down 15.1% from the year-ago week. While the EIA does not comment on its production estimates, the weekly total marked the 12th straight week of lower production when compared with last year as the coal market continues to deal with the fallout from low natural gas prices. Coal production in Wyoming and Montana, which is mostly made up of production from the Powder River Basin, totaled an estimated 6.9 million st during the week, down 14.4% compared with last year. Article continues below… Platts Global Coal Alert brings real-time coal industry information to those who can’t afford to wait until tomorrow to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Indian Prime Minister Prods Coal Monopoly

State-run Coal India has failed to keep pace with the country’s demand for electricity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to whip the giant mining outfit into shape. Photo: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg News BEJDIH, India—Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to end decades of crippling electricity shortages and turn this country into a manufacturing dynamo. At the state-run behemoth’s mine here, men still move coal in baskets on their shoulders. At another project, electricity is so unreliable miners descend in a steam-powered elevator. One giant mine that opened last year runs at a fraction of capacity because a rail line to haul its coal is mired in bureaucracy. Committees and economists have long studied how to whip Coal India, the world’s largest producer of the fuel, into shape. Labor unions and their allies oppose ideas such as breaking the company into smaller units or privatizing it. Mr. Modi is taking a gradual […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Hampton Roads April coal exports down 37.2% from year ago

Coal exports from terminals in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region totaled 2.5 million st in April, down 28.3% from March and 37.2% lower than the year-ago month, data from the Virginia Maritime Association showed Wednesday. The association does not comment on its monthly figures, but low seaborne prices are likely behind the dip in exports. Discounting February’s export total of 2 million st, which was affected by loading delays due to bad weather, the April figure is the lowest since November 2010. April’s figures also show a weak comparison to March loadings, which were boosted by delayed loadings from February. Article continues below… Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, as well as: 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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US coal stockpiles at 165.6 million st, up 29.2% from a year ago: Bentek

US coal stockpiles totaled an estimated 165.6 million st for the week ended April 30, up 1.6% from the prior week and 29.2% from a year ago, Platts unit Bentek Energy said Friday. Utility coal consumption totaled 13.4 million st as it increased 2% with gains in the MISO and ERCOT regions, Bentek said. While recent coal consumption has been increasing, consumption is still 7% off from the same period last year. Coal production gains outweighed the increased consumption totaling 17.9 million st for the week, an increase of 6% from the prior week, Bentek said. Coal production is still down 5% on a year-to-date basis. –Jeffrey McDonald, [email protected] –Edited by Richard Rubin, [email protected] Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, as well as: Daily pricing for tons and allowances for SO2 and NOx emissions The exclusive Platts OTC Broker Index, a market assessment compiled […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Exclusive: U.S. examining coal cleanup program for shortfalls

BALTIMORE (Reuters) – The federal government is examining whether struggling U.S. coal companies still qualify for an exemption that allows them to avoid having to fully insure against billion-dollar mine cleanup costs, the top regulator for the mining industry said on Monday. Within the last several weeks, federal officials have begun to scrutinize the "self-bonding" programs that allow financially qualified mining companies to leave part of their potential clean-up costs uninsured, said Joseph Pizarchik, director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). Coal states regulate mining operations – including the federal self-bonding program – on a day-to-day basis but federal officials may step in if not enough is done to guarantee cleanup work, or "reclamation". Insurance and legal experts say many U.S. coal companies would struggle to pay for full insurance against cleanup costs and lifting the exemption could push them closer to bankruptcies. "The state […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

New Rules, Cheap Energy Heighten Battle Between Coal and Gas

ENLARGE A coal-fired power plant in Wyoming. The dispute over whether coal is a clean fuel isn’t merely semantic. Photo: JIM URQUHART/REUTERS HOUSTON—Tough new environmental rules and cheap energy prices are heightening the battle between coal miners and natural-gas pumpers over which fuel will dominate the U.S. power market. At the IHS CERAWeek global energy conference here, there were some heated words on both sides of the debate. “Cleaner coal, there’s no such thing,” Eldar Saetre, chief executive of the Norwegian oil giant Statoil ASA, told an audience of hundreds of people, most of them employed in the fossil-fuel industry. He added climate-conscious electric companies should burn natural gas instead. “The only thing that gets tense is when somebody like the head of Statoil makes a comment like there is no such thing as clean coal,” said Gregory Boyce, CEO of Peabody Energy Corp., one of the largest coal […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Weekly US coal production estimated at 18 million st, down 7.6%: EIA

Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 18 million st in the week ended April 11, up 3.5% from the prior week but down 7.6% from the year-ago week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. Coal production in Wyoming and Montana, which is mostly made up of production from the Powder River Basin, totaled an estimated 7.8 million st during the week, down 6.8% compared with last year. Year-to-date coal production in Wyoming and Montana is estimated to total 114.4 million st, down 3.8% compared with the same period last year. In Central Appalachia, weekly coal production totaled an estimated 2.3 million st, down 16.3% from last year. Year-to-date coal production is estimated to total 34.4 million st, down 9.3% from last year. Weekly coal production in Northern Appalachia totaled an estimated 2.6 million st, down 4.9% from last year. Year-to-date coal production is estimated to total 37.6 million […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China’s March coal imports down 32.7% on year: customs

China’s coal imports, including lignite, thermal and metallurgical coal, fell 32.7% year on year to 17.03 million mt in March, the ninth consecutive year-on-year decline, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed Monday. However, imports rose 11.6% from February, which was affected by the Lunar New Year holidays. The value of March imports was $1.67 billion, plunging 45.5% on the year but up 3.6% on the month. That translates to an average price of $62.65/mt, down $14.77/mt year on year and $4.84/mt lower on the month. The GAC will provide a breakdown of March imports later this month. Over January-March, the country imported 49.07 million mt of coal, down 41.5% year on year, the GAC said. Total value during the same period was $3.24 billion, a drop of 52.5% year on year. Meanwhile, China exported 320,000 mt of coal in March, dropping 56.8% on the year and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Annual US coal production set to drop to 18-year low: EIA

US coal production this year could drop to a low not seen in almost 20 years, the US Energy Information Administration said Tuesday in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for April. EIA predicts US coal production will now total 926 million st in 2015, down 17 million st from its estimate last month, as both domestic demand and exports continue to decline. If the EIA’s estimate holds, it would be the lowest annual total for US coal production since 1987, when 918.8 million st was produced. In 2016, the agency predicts US coal production will rise to 941.4 million st, down 10 million st from its last estimate, made in March. In 2014, US coal production totaled 996.7 million st. A rise in the use of natural gas in electricity generation during the first few months of the year will lead to less coal consumption by utilities in 2015, the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal’s percentage of US power generation drops in January: EIA

Coal burn accounted for more US power generation in January than in December, but by percentage made up less of all power generated, Energy Information Administration data Friday showed. Coal’s share of the US electric power sector totaled 132,742 MWh in January, or 36.8% of all generation, down from the previous month as 19,467 MWh more power was generated. In December, coal burn totaled 124,715 MWh, which accounted for 40.7% of all generation. Natural gas made up 28% of generation in January and 29.4% of generation in December. Coal accounted for 46.5% of power generation in January 2014. Utility coal stockpiles grew from 151.4 million st in December to 157.8 million st in January. The last time stockpiles topped 156 million st was November 2013. Article continues below… Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, as well as: Daily pricing for tons and allowances for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Germany’s 2014 coal imports hit all-time high of 56.2 mil mt: VDKi

German hard coal imports reached an all-time record high of 56.2 million mt in 2014, up 6.2% on the year, according to statistics released by the German Coal Importers Association (VDKi) Thursday. Thermal coal imports into Germany increased by about 5% on the year to 41.9 million mt, while coking coal imports jumped 15% year on year to 11.7 million mt. Imports of coke declined by about 6% to 2.4 million mt. Russia was the largest shipper of thermal coal to Germany last year, delivering 13.7 million mt, up from 13.1 million mt the previous year. Article continues below… Platts Global Coal Alert brings real-time coal industry information to those who can’t afford to wait until tomorrow to get market coverage and pricing information. With it, you get up-to-the-minute news, overheard transaction information, and market commentaries, along with thermal coal markets pricing for regional and global markets. Thermal coal […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

The Global Coal Boom Is Going Bust: Report

A new report by CoalSwarm and the Sierra Club provides compelling evidence that the death knell for the global coal boom might very well have rung some time between 2010 and 2012. Based on data CoalSwarm compiled of every coal plant proposed worldwide for the past five years as part of its Global Coal Plant Tracker initiative, the report finds that for every coal plant that came online, plans for two other plants were put on hold or scrapped altogether. The failure-to-completion rate was even higher, as much as 4 to 1, in Europe, South Asia, Latin America, and Africa, according to the report, which also says that the long decline in coal-fired energy production in the United States and the European Union can be expected to speed up in the near future. “From 2003 to 2014, the amount of coal-fired generating capacity retired in the US and the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Japan Continues to Re-Embrace Coal

Coal is stockpiled at the Onahama port of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture in February 2014…. ENLARGE Photo: Bloomberg News TOKYO—Japan is continuing to re-embrace coal to make up for its lack of nuclear energy, with plans for another power station released Thursday bringing the number of new coal-fired plants announced this year to seven. Utilities in Japan are eager to take advantage of coal’s relative cheapness to give them a competitive edge at a time when other countries are seeking to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions by moving away from a fuel source seen as dirty. The liberalization of Japan’s power industry by 2020 will pit power companies against each other as rivals for the first time. In addition, with a relaxation of restrictions on coal power and no new emissions targets on the horizon, utilities are increasingly seeing coal as an important part of their business plans. Kansai Electric […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China’s Coal Consumption Fell in 2014

For the first time this century China’s coal consumption has fallen, according to preliminary data from both the Chinese Coal Industry Association and the National Energy Administration. The amount by which coal use declined last year remains an open question, with the Coal Industry Association reporting a reduction of around 3.5% but NEA data showing a fall of only 0.4%. Applying the two growth rates to corresponding official statistics for 2013 yields very similar numbers for absolute coal consumption in 2014, however, which may suggest that the NEA’s small reduction is likely due to under-reporting of consumption in previous years. China’s implied coal demand Climate impact News of the coal fall represents a major step-change on two fronts: China’s war on air pollution, and global efforts to peak CO2 emissions. China burns half of world’s coal and has been responsible for well over half of total CO2 growth globally for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural gas to unseat coal as generation king by 2035

Natural gas to unseat coal as generation king by 2035 thumbnail Information Administration predicts that natural gas will dethrone King Coal by 2035, and a number of market forces are at work that may assure that ascension. Coal through the first three quarters of 2014 provided roughly 51 percent of the nation’s electricity, and Wyoming supplies about 40 percent of that coal. Comparatively, natural gas through the period fueled about 20 percent of utility generation. In other words, the transition hasn’t happened just yet. However, 45 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity is set to retire in the next two years, and most of it will likely be replaced by natural gas generation. In Wyoming, the 132-megawatt Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station recently went online, replacing 82 megawatts of “older, coal-fired generation that cannot be economically retrofitted to meet new EPA air emissions regulations and must be retired,” according to a company […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Michigan’s Governor Snyder eyes phasing out coal-fired power generation, unlike counterparts

Louisville, Kentucky (Platts)–16Jan2015/617 pm EST/2317 GMT Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is setting his energy stall out early in the state’s two-year legislative session, saying he wants to look into weaning the state off coal-fired generation. Currently, Michigan sources about 50% of its power from coal-fired plants, but Snyder told the Michigan Conservative Energy Forum Thursday that "now is the time to look at a long-term transition away from coal." In the long term, Snyder sees potential replacements for coal such as natural gas and wind "as viable options for Michigan, both of which have begun to build a presence in the state," Dave Murray, the governor’s deputy press secretary, said Friday. And the former business executive and venture capitalist’s stance on potentially expanding the state’s 10% by 2015 renewable portfolio standard during this year’s session could hold influence in the Republican-dominated state Legislature — which began its session on […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal India Strike Said to Shut Half of Output, Shipments

A strike by coal miners in India , the nation’s biggest walkout in four decades, shut down about half of monopoly Coal India Ltd.’s production and shipments yesterday, said two company officials, who asked not to be identified. The strike, by all of the company’s five major unions, entered its second day after talks between Coal Secretary Anil Swarup and the unions in New Delhi failed. The unions are protesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s plan to end the state’s monopoly fearing job losses and cuts in benefits. The strike will last for the planned five days as the government isn’t listening to worker concerns, said S.Q. Zama, general secretary at the Indian National Mineworkers Federation. “If this strike continues beyond a couple of days, the situation with respect to coal stock would become critical,” said Debasish Mishra, a senior director at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt.’s energy practice […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Smoking Out Coal’s China Question

The global coal market has a burning question, and Li Zhidong has an answer. In a National Bureau of Research report, the management professor at the Nagaoka University of Technology in Japan addresses the issue of when coal use in China, the world’s largest consumer of the black stuff, will fall. Chinese coal demand has started slowing as officials favor cleaner fuels to combat pollution. That’s sent prices down, but demand hasn’t actually declined yet. Mr. Li calculates coal use in volume terms will fall starting 2016, as heavy industry also slows. The one consolation for international miners is that their higher-quality coal releasing more energy can find buyers longer. Mr. Li expects coal use in heat content terms to peak in 2019, as Beijing discourages lower-quality coal, and as higher heat-content stuff is still used by power producers who take time to switch to alternative energy sources. Pretty […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Drop in Chinese demand a ‘threat’ to some US coal exports: Wood Mackenzie

Houston (Platts)–18Dec2014/423 am EST/923 GMT Dropping Chinese demand for imported thermal coal will likely have the biggest impact on US producers who sell into markets across the Atlantic, global research firm Wood Mackenzie said Wednesday, December 17. That is because the estimated 25 million mt (27.6 million st) drop in imports from 2014 to 2015, which was ordered by the Chinese government to both protect local mining interests and the environment, will push lower-cost Indonesian and Australian thermal coal into the Atlantic, said Jonny Sultoon, an Annapolis, Maryland-based senior analyst for Wood Mackenzie. "There is a volume shift taking place back into the Atlantic Basin that is a threat for US exports," Sultoon said. South Africa, which can sell to either the Pacific Basin or the Atlantic Basin, is now shifting back to the Atlantic, he said. Article continues below… Platts Coal Trader International is the only daily publication […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Can China’s Shale Gas Help It Reach Peak Coal by 2020?

Can China’s Shale Gas Help It Reach Peak Coal by 2020? thumbnail China’s GDP has grown 670% from $1.2 trillion at the beginning of the century to $9.24 trillion in 2013. That’s mind-numbingly fast growth. Perhaps the only thing more amazing is how the country has accomplished the feat: with the help from coal,  a lot of coal. Some estimates demonstrate that China has had to build at least one new coal power per week to fuel growth, which is backed up by the fact that nearly 80% of all electricity generated there comes from coal (compared to just 39% in the United States). However, after recently agreeing to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 or sooner, economists quickly realized that China would need to reach peak coal usage well before then. No surprise, then, that Beijing announced last month that coal use would peak by 2020. In fact, some provinces will […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Hampton Roads coal exports down 33.5% year on year in November

Houston (Platts)–4Dec2014/558 pm EST/2258 GMT Coal exports from Virginia’s Hampton Roads region totaled 2.77 million st in November, up 1.5% from the prior month but down 33.5% from the year-ago month, the Virginia Maritime Association said Thursday. While neither the association nor the individual terminals comment on monthly export data, the decline is attributed to weak overseas pricing for both metallurgical and thermal coal due to lower demand and global oversupply. For thermal pricing, Platts on Thursday assessed coal delivered to the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp (CIF ARA) at $71.95/mt (or $65.27/st), down nearly 14% from the start of the year. For US met coal, Platts assessed low volatile matter hard coking coal FOB East Coast on Thursday at $113/mt (or $102.51/st), down 13% from the start of the year. Lambert’s Point, which is owned and operated by Norfolk, Virginia-based Norfolk Southern, exported 1,371,040 st in November, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Peak Coal: Why the Industry’s Dominance May Soon Be Over

The coal industry has achieved stunning growth in the last decade, largely due to increased demand in China. But big changes in China’s economy and its policies are expected to put an end to coal’s big boom. by fred pearce After a decade in which coal has been grabbing an ever-larger share of the world’s energy supply, could coal’s boom be about to turn to bust? Both the United States and China are planning to curb coal, and analysts say the repercussions for the global industry could be dramatic. The world may soon breathe a great deal easier, as the biggest contributor to both urban smog and climate change goes into decline. Earlier this month, the Obama administration announced curbs on CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants, designed to deliver a cut in U.S. A worker shovels coal at a mine facility in Anhui province in eastern China. AFP/Getty […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Utilities Press Railroad to Speed Coal Deliveries

A BNSF train waits on the tracks near a Becker, Minn., power plant. Rail congestion… ENLARGE A BNSF train waits on the tracks near a Becker, Minn., power plant. Rail congestion has slowed deliveries. Minneapolis Star Tribune/Zuma Press Saying they are running short on coal, electric utilities from Minnesota to Texas are trying to pressure Warren Buffett ’s BNSF Railway Co. to speed up deliveries on its congested tracks before the worst of the winter weather hits. One group of utilities has petitioned federal regulators to impose a timetable on BNSF to add workers and improve tracks leading east from coal fields in Wyoming. Utilities also are negotiating directly with BNSF. In Minnesota, politicians and regulators warn that consumers could pay millions of dollars in extra charges if utilities have to buy high-cost backup power because they can’t operate their coal-fired power plants. BNSF, which is owned by Berkshire […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural Gas Boom Is Drowning Out Coal Industry’s Battle Cries

4729 Votes Natural Gas Boom Is Drowning Out Coal Industry’s Battle Cries While a lot of the political fodder during the 2014 election season focused on the “war on coal,” a bigger and even stronger show of force is transforming the nation’s economic landscape, especially in “war torn” Appalachia: natural gas. The natural resource has emerged from the back burner of U.S. energy development and onto the hot seat. Over the last seven years, it has not only fueled new economic growth but it has also changed the way electricity is generated. Beyond the newfound abundance — a result of shale gas drilling technologies — the manufacturing sector has subsequently boomed. To be clear, dry natural gas can be used for electric generation. Wet natural gas, or natural gas liquids that include methane, ethane butane and propane, are separated from the dry gas. Those elements are then used as […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Proposed US EPA rule to have significant impact on power grid: ERCOT analysis

Houston (Platts)–17Nov2014/457 pm EST/2157 GMT The Electric Reliability Council of Texas anticipates that implementation of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule for reducing greenhouse gas emissions will result in the retirement of up half of ERCOT’s coal generation capacity, raise retail energy bills up to 20% and lead to a greater likelihood of rotating outages. ERCOT Monday released its analysis of the impact of the Clean Power Plan, saying it "is evident that implementation … will have a significant impact on the planning and operation of the ERCOT grid." "ERCOT’s primary concern with the Clean Power Plan is that, given the ERCOT region’s market design and existing transmission infrastructure, the timing and scale of the expected changes needed to reach the CO2 emission goals could have a harmful impact on reliability," according to the report. " … it is unknown, based on the information currently available, whether compliance […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal versus climate in Australia

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described the science on climate change as ‘crap’ [Getty Images] Australia continues to frustrate efforts by fellow G20 members to include climate change on the agenda at the upcoming leaders’ summit in the eastern city of Brisbane this weekend. As the host nation sets the G20 meeting’s agenda , Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott – an avowed sceptic of human-caused climate change – has resisted calls for global warming to be discussed when world leaders gather on November 15 and 16. Despite a recent official draft summary of proceedings appearing to make token references to climate change, the level of importance afforded to the issue remains unclear. Climate change was on the agenda at the previous eight G20 summits. Since forming the government in September 2013, Abbott has repealed Australia’s nascent emissions trading scheme and slashed funding to agencies and programmes promoting renewable energy and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal’s Defender-in-Chief Tries to Shift Debate About Fuel

By Tim Loh Nov 5, 2014 4:00 PM PT 2 Comments Email Print Greg Boyce, who leads the world’s biggest publicly traded coal company, wants people to focus on the fuel’s virtues, not its warts. His pitch: cheap and abundant coal should be used to drive economic growth and help the world’s impoverished improve their lives. “It’s pretty strange that, globally, not only the UN, but developed country leaders are spending so much time on, quote, climate change,” said Boyce, chief executive officer of Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) “They aren’t focusing on how you eliminate poverty, eliminate energy poverty, and start driving global economic activity.” Boyce is wading into an issue at the very heart of the future of the global economy, at a time when his own company, which exports coal worldwide, hasn’t reported annual profit since 2011. The global debate is marked by dual demands: how to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

European 2015 Coal Falls a Second Month as Natural Gas Plunges

European coal for delivery in 2015 fell for a second month as natural gas tumbled after Russia agreed to terms for resuming gas exports to Ukraine. European next-year coal declined 1.3 percent to $71.55 a metric ton as of 4:55 p.m. in London, .extending the monthly loss to 3.3 percent, according to broker data on Bloomberg. U.K. gas for delivery next summer slid as much as 1.9 percent today and declined 6.2 percent in October, the biggest monthly drop since the contract started trading. Lower gas prices increase profits at power plants burning the fuel to generate electricity. U.K. utilities consumed the least coal in August since at least 1995, data published yesterday by the Department of Energy and Climate Change showed. “The deal could put downward pressure on the price of European coal,” Thomas Pugh, a commodities economist at Capital Economics Ltd., said in an e-mailed note. “The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal Miners Fired in Appalachia Getting Hired in Wyoming

It’s boom times in Wyoming for embattled U.S. coal companies, where the mining industry is hiring workers while shedding them in Appalachia. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR) , the second-largest U.S. producer, hasn’t posted a profit in three years and is closing money-losing mines in West Virginia amid plans to increase production out West by as much as 30 percent. Miner Steven King is going along for the ride. After losing his job last month at the company’s Black Castle operation, King, 42, is getting ready to move his family 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) to a state he’s never visited to work at an Alpha site in Wyoming. With the U.S. coal industry in its worst decline in decades, companies including Alpha and Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) , the biggest producer, are pivoting toward pockets of future profit. No prospect is bigger than the Powder River Basin, a high, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. coal exports fall on lower European demand, increased global supply

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on U.S. Census Bureau data Republished October 3, 2014, 12:35 p.m., to clarify graph units. U.S. coal exports have continued to decline from their record volumes in 2012. During the first half of 2014, coal exports totaled 52.3 million short tons (MMst), 16% below the same period in 2013. Most of these exports go to countries in Europe and Asia. Export declines reflect both lower European demand for steam coal and increased steam coal supply from Australia and Indonesia. Metallurgical coal supply from Australia, Canada, and Russia has also increased. These factors have led to a cumulative decline of 9.0 MMst in coal exports to Europe and Asia during the first half of 2014. Coal exports fall into two categories: metallurgical coal, which is used in the production of steel, and steam coal, which is commonly used to fuel boilers that generate steam […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Merkel’s Taste for Coal to Upset $130 Billion Green Drive

When Germany kicked off its journey toward a system harnessing energy from wind and sun back in 2000, the goal was to protect the environment and build out climate-friendly power generation. More than a decade later, Europe ’s biggest economy is on course to miss its 2020 climate targets and greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants are virtually unchanged. Germany used coal, the dirtiest fuel, to generate 45 percent of its power last year, the highest level since 2007, as Chancellor Angela Merkel is phasing out nuclear in the wake of the Fukushima atomic accident in Japan three years ago. The transition, dubbed the Energiewende, has so far added more than 100 billion euros ($134 billion) to the power bills of households, shop owners and small factories as renewable energy met a record 25 percent of demand last year. RWE AG, the nation’s biggest power producer, last year reported its […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Meet the Biggest Polluter in China’s Most Polluted City

Xingtai, a coal-mining hub home to 7.6 million people, has the worst air quality of any Chinese city. Last year, it only had 38 days when air quality met national standards. XINGTAI, China—It’s the heaviest polluter in the dirtiest city in China. Jizhong Energy Resources Co. operates six large coal mines and dozens of related facilities in this gray industrial center, which government data show has the worst air quality of any Chinese town. Five of the facilities are on a national list of top air polluters, and eight are on the Xingtai government’s list, more than any other company here. Now, Jizhong is moving to clean itself up, reflecting the balancing act taking place across China as regional governments and businesses try to tackle runaway pollution without wrecking local economies. The government is under rising pressure from China’s rapidly emerging middle class to address the country’s degraded air, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China Bans Use of Coal With High Ash or Sulfur to Fight Smog

China will ban sales and imports of coal with high ash or sulfur in a move to promote cleaner types of the fuel and improve the nation’s air quality. Coal with ash content of more than 40 percent and sulfur of more than 3 percent is banned from sales and imports into China starting Jan. 1, according to a regulation posted on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission yesterday. Lignite containing ash of more than 30 percent and sulfur of more than 1.5 percent is also prohibited. Other limitations involve coal with chemical content such as mercury and arsenic. China, the world’s largest consumer of coal, is restricting the dirtiest grades to fight pollution. It will encourage imports of higher-quality supplies after smog worsened in Shanghai and Beijing and sparked social unrest in Maoming and Hangzhou. The nation depends on coal for about 65 percent of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal-fired power generation in US revised lower for 2014-2015: EIA

The US Energy Information Administration Tuesday lowered its estimates for coal-fired electricity generation in 2014-2015, while natural gas and renewables were revised higher. The EIA’s updated forecasts were included in its September Short Term Energy Outlook. Coal-fired electricity generation for all sectors, including residential, commercial, and industrial, was revised 0.8% lower to 4.502 million MWh/d from 4.541 million MWh/d in 2014, and 0.6% lower to 4.374 million MWh/d from 4.398 million MWh/d in 2015. Natural gas-fired generation was revised 0.4% higher to 2.995 million MWh/d in 2014, and 0.3% higher to 3.112 MWh/d in 2015. "Other renewables" generation, which includes wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar generation, was taken 1% higher to 759,000 MWh/d in 2014, and raised 0.9% higher to 811,000 MWh/d in 2015. ONLY TWO COAL PLANTS TO COME ONLINE IN 2014 According to preliminary data, power generators added 4.35 GW of new capacity during the first half […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US coal fundamentals weak, natural gas demand to increase in 2015: Barclays

Investment bank Barclays Tuesday said most market participants believe it will be another year before any improvement is seen in the seaborne metallurgical coal market, while the bank expects US natural gas demand to pick up "significantly" in 2015 as a number of coal-fired power plants are shuttered. Barclays detailed its near-term outlook for the US coal and natural gas markets in its Global Energy Outlook for August. Fixed income analyst Matthew Vittorioso said US coal companies are a challenging place to find value due in part to weak met and thermal coal prices. "The spot price for top quality metallurgical (met) coal has been stuck down at $110-115/[mt] for a couple of quarters now and most market participants think it will be another year before things start to improve," Vittorioso said. Article continues below… Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, as well as: […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

The Time for Burning Coal Has Passed

Active Citizens , Active Citizens , Civil Society , Climate Change , Editors’ Choice , Energy , Environment , Europe , Featured , Headlines , Natural Resources , Projects , TerraViva United Nations Anti-coal human chain crossing the Niesse river which separates Poland and Germany, August 2014. Credit: Courtesy of Greenpeace Poland GRABICE, Poland / PROSCHIM, Germany, Aug 26 2014 (IPS) – “People have gathered here to tell their politicians that the way in which we used energy and our environment in the 19th and 20th centuries is now over,” says Radek Gawlik, one of Poland’s most experienced environmental activists. “The time for burning coal has passed and the sooner we understand this, the better it is for us.” Gawlik was one of over 7,500 people who joined an 8-kilometre-long human chain at the weekend linking the German village of Kerkwitz with the Polish village of Grabice to oppose […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Dirtiest Fuel Threatens 700-Year-Old Villages in Europe

Europe’s energy dilemma — burning the dirtiest coal while meeting pollution targets — is crystallizing in opposition to a plan that would uproot 700-year-old villages and dig two pits the size of Manhattan. PGE SA and Vattenfall AB , the Warsaw- and Stockholm-based utilities, want to tap Europe’s richest lignite deposit, along the German-Polish border. They’re opposed by communities already suffering sporadic sand storms and crumbling roads, in an area where the 12 kilometer (7.5 miles) long Jaenschwalde mine has dominated the landscape for three decades. Locals will form an 8-kilometer cross-border human chain on Aug. 23 in protest. The battle reflects the divide across Europe. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sees coal, used to generate 90 percent of his nation’s power, as a way for Europe to depend less on Russian natural gas. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government calls lignite “the black gold” that will help smooth out […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Can an Economy Develop Without Coal?

While all fossil fuels are contributing to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, coal stands apart as really problematic, not just because of its CO2 emissions today (see chart, global emissions in millions of tonnes CO2 vs. time), but because of the vast reserves waiting to be used and the tendency for an emerging economy to lock its energy system into it. Global energy emissions I recently came across data relating to the potential coal resource base in just one country, Botswana, which is estimated at some 200 billion tonnes. Current recoverable reserves are of course a fraction of this amount, but just for some perspective, 200 billion tonnes of coal once used would add well over 100 billion tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere and therefore shift the cumulative total from the current 580 billion tonnes carbon to nearly 700 billion tonnes carbon; and that is just from Botswana. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple