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Water for coal

In January, a chemical used to clean coal spilled into the Elk River, which runs through the middle of West Virginia, contaminating the state’s primary water supply. Suddenly, 300,000 people were left without water for drinking, washing, or bathing. Connect with Fault Lines While the crisis made national headlines, the spill was not an isolated incident. Coal mining has been poisoning rural West Virginia residents’ water for years with little attention paid to various accidents and their consequences. After all, this is one of the poorest regions of the country, and it is economically dependent on a single extractive industry. The people of West Virginia are both wedded to coal and at its mercy, and the industry’s deep pockets regularly influence politicians to fight against environmental regulation that could benefit the health of their constituents. Fault Lines heads to coal country to see how West Virginia’s main industry impacts […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s Thirst for Coal is Drying Up

As the ‘ airpocalypse ‘ news out of China continues to grow, what we predicted more than a year ago is now increasingly obvious – China’s seemingly endless coal demand is a , and the Chinese coal boom is over . What we often hear about a never-ending demand for coal in China has turned out to be just a desperate attempt by a flailing industry seeking to convince investors and politicians that they have a future in a cleaner, greener 21st century. But as frustration with deadly coal pollution grows along with China’s booming clean energy industry, this looks increasingly doubtful. Since news of the airpocalypse first broke, the Chinese public has become increasingly adamant that dangerous air pollution from coal-burning power plants be curbed. In response, China’s State Council announced a detailed plan — The Airborne Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan — that aimed to cut […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China produces and consumes almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined

. Chinese production and consumption of coal increased for the 13th consecutive year in 2012. China is by far the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, accounting for 46% of global coal production and 49% of global coal consumption—almost as much as the rest of the world combined. As a manufacturing country that has large electric power requirements, China’s coal consumption fuels its economic growth. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.7% in 2012, following an average GDP growth rate of 10% per year from 2000 to 2011. The top 10 coal-producing countries supplied 90% of the world’s coal in 2012. China produced nearly four times as much coal as the second largest producer, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Coal Missing Boom as Climate Foes Clean Asia’s Backyard

Bowie Resource Partners LLC wanted to export coal from the port of Oakland, California , promising thousands of construction jobs and a $3 million-a-year payroll in a city whose unemployment rate was almost double the national average. Oakland’s response: No, thanks. “We weren’t going to sell our souls here,” Jack Fleck, a retired engineer and Oakland resident who spoke out against Bowie’s plan, said by phone on May 12. “Whatever the economic benefit would’ve been, it wasn’t worth destroying the planet over.” Oakland’s rejection marks a sea change in the fight against coal exports from the U.S. and underscores an emerging challenge for energy projects. The Sierra Club and other environmental groups have scuttled three of six coal terminals proposed in the U.S. Pacific Northwest that would have shipped as much as 146 million metric tons annually to booming markets in Asia . Where coal projects were once fought […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chemical spill fails to loosen coal’s grip on West Virginia politics

It has been more than five months since a leak at a chemical storage facility left more than 300,000 West Virginians without drinking water. Today voters across West Virginia are heading to the polls for the first time since the spill to participate in the state’s primary elections. In the immediate aftermath of the leak, some West Virginians, including Benjamin Seebaugh, believed its devastating impact would serve as a wake-up call for the state, which is known for its lax regulatory environment. Now they’re not so sure. “Many of us truly believed this would be the impetus for tangible change in West Virginia relating to environmental relations and the energy industry,” says Seebaugh, 22. A lifelong West Virginia resident and a Democratic Party activist, he felt that the proximity of the incident to the state’s seat of power was also significant. “Even though West Virginia is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Dirty U.S. Coal Finds a Home in Europe

Even as it faces increased regulatory scrutiny at home, America’s dirty and unwanted coal is being embraced in one of the world’s cleanest energy markets: the European Union. At the biggest power plant in the U.K., operated by Drax Group PLC, a small black mountain of a million tons of coal sits at the base of a dozen 374-foot cooling towers. Much of it is high-sulfur coal from under the plains of Illinois and Indiana—exactly the kind of high-emission, power-plant fuel receiving closer scrutiny from U.S. regulators and courts. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of enforcing regulations that require power plants in 28 states to cut coal emissions that blow across state lines. Many U.S. power plants were already reducing emissions in anticipation of tougher Environmental Protection Agency rules that take effect in 2015. Now, the Supreme Court ruling could affect 1,000 power plants in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s coal solution has carbon downside across globe

Global carbon-dioxide emissions are climbing at rates that pose severe risks to the planet, and reversing that trend is heavily dependent on China making cuts in its emissions. This coal-to-gas plant built by Datang International is the first of its kind in Inner Mongolia. It creates methane that can be piped to Beijing, where it can be used as a cleaner burning fuel to reduce air pollution. But the plant itself can send out quite a stench. LOSING GROUND The struggle to reduce CO2 During the next three days, reporter Hal Bernton will bring you stories from the front lines of China’s changing energy industry. This is kickoff of an occasional series on the challenges of reducing carbon emissions. Read more → The new coal plant here is an industrial fortress of boilers, tanks and towers that stretches across a lonely plateau in Inner Mongolia. All day long and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Implications of accelerated power plant retirements

In 2012, coal-fired and nuclear power plants together provided 56% of the electricity generated in the United States. The role of these technologies in the U.S. generation mix has been changing since 2009, as both low natural gas prices and slower growth of electricity demand have altered their competitiveness relative to other fuels. Many coal-fired plants also must comply with requirements of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and other environmental regulations. Some of the challenges faced by coal-fired and nuclear generators, and the implications for electricity markets if the plants are retired in significant numbers, are analyzed in this discussion. Implications of lower natural gas prices on industrial production Release Date: 4/23/14 This analysis focuses on variation in industrial output in the Low and High Oil Price cases and Low and High Oil and Gas Resource cases compared to the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2014) Reference case. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s inability to achieve nuclear targets will be a boon for coal: Woodmac

China will be unable to achieve its target of increasing nuclear power generating capacity to 200 GW by 2030, translating into opportunities for coal producers to capture additional demand growth, Wood Mackenzie said Monday. Coal will remain the dominant fuel, at 64% of China’s power generation mix in 2030. China’s target is to increase nuclear generating capacity to 200 GW in 2030 from the current 14.6 GW, it said. However, Woodmac said China will only be able to increase its nuclear generating capacity to 175 GW in 2030, as some of its planned and proposed projects will be delayed or canceled. "The missed targets will translate into opportunities for coal producers to capture additional demand growth," Woodmac said. It added that by 2030, China’s nuclear capacity will account for 30% of the world’s total nuclear fleet, from 4.5% last year. And while China’s natural […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China's inability to achieve nuclear targets will be a boon for coal: Woodmac

China will be unable to achieve its target of increasing nuclear power generating capacity to 200 GW by 2030, translating into opportunities for coal producers to capture additional demand growth, Wood Mackenzie said Monday. Coal will remain the dominant fuel, at 64% of China’s power generation mix in 2030. China’s target is to increase nuclear generating capacity to 200 GW in 2030 from the current 14.6 GW, it said. However, Woodmac said China will only be able to increase its nuclear generating capacity to 175 GW in 2030, as some of its planned and proposed projects will be delayed or canceled. "The missed targets will translate into opportunities for coal producers to capture additional demand growth," Woodmac said. It added that by 2030, China’s nuclear capacity will account for 30% of the world’s total nuclear fleet, from 4.5% last year. And while China’s natural […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple