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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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