Monthly Archives: May 2019

In the news today…

Coal:

• Energy News Network reports Guzman Energy plans to buyout and close coal-fired power plants in Colorado to further develop renewable energy sources such as solar.
• Utility Dive and E&E Energywire reports Guzman Energy’s offer to buy and close three coal plants was rejected by Tri-State Generation and Transmission.
• World Oil and Bloomberg report last year West Virginia produced more natural gas than coal.
• Chicago Magazine reports southern Illinois still highly values coal because of the industry’s good paying jobs but worries that the industry has no future.
• The Washington Examiner reports utilities are concerned the ACE rule, set to become final in June, will impact their transition away from coal in favor of modernizing coal plants.
• Forbes reports that some utilities are essentially subsidizing coal by remaining vertically integrated with the coal power plants which power them, keeping coal plants running when the market does not favor them.
• E&E Energywire reports coal plants which are shut down leave stranded costs that consumers still have to pay.
• The Salt Lake Tribune reports a business venture to clean substandard coal and sell it as fuel proved a failure, leaving a facility contaminated with coal waste and unpaid debts.
• Utility Dive reports customers can now buy bonds to pay off stranded coal assets, but utilities are hesitant about the method.

Power Grid:

• PoliticoPro reports Andy Ott, president and CEO of PJM, will step down at the end of June.
• E&E Climatewire reports companies that pledge 100 percent renewable energy are not always consuming renewable energy due to renewable energy credits used for the grid.

Electric Vehicles:

• Mining.com reports a spike in EV sales, and IEA’s projections hold that 10 to 20 percent of the world’s vehicles could be electric by 2030.

EPA:

• Inside EPA reports Democratic attorneys general and two national organizations have urged EPA in comments not to scale back the scope of states’ review authority under section 401 of the CWA.
• PoliticoPro reports a federal judge late Tuesday ruled that the Waters of the U.S. rule violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

Supreme Court:

• E&E Greenwire reports efforts to settle County of Maui v. Hawai’I Wildlife Fund stalled last week; if no settlement is reached, the case will be taken up this fall in the Supreme Court.

World News:

• Bloomberg reports China seeks to lower domestic coal prices to aid power producers and proposed that miners bring the benchmark grade to below 600 yuan, or $87, a ton.
• Quartz reports Australian voters have backed coal, but investors are abandoning plans for new mines.

In the news today and from the weekend…

Coal:

• E&E Climatewire reports the Interior department claims the coal moratorium was only a “pause”, so to restart coal leasing would only change the timing of emissions, not their cumulative impact.
• Minnesota Public Radio reports Xcel Energy wants to close its remaining coal-burning plants by 2030, including the Sherco Generation Station, which is a major source of economy for the city of Becker.
• E&E Energywire reports an Ohio House committee voted to approve a revised ‘clean air’ bill that would provide aid for nuclear and coal plants while slashing support for renewables.
• Morning Consult carries an op-ed which states coal use in the US is in free fall due to market factors, even though the Trump administration continues to support the use of coal.

Climate:

• The New York Times reports President Trump is rolling back efforts to curb greenhouse-gas emissions by changing the method of research within government agencies, scaling back projected climate models from 2100 to 2040.

World News:

• Axios reports Great Britain has gone close to 11 days without using coal in its electricity mix, signaling the region’s relatively fast movement away from coal.

In the news today…

 Coal:

• The Billings Gazette and Colorado Sun re-run the article by Associated Press concerning the conclusion by officials that lifting the coal leasing moratorium would have little effect on emissions.
• Inside EPA reports the Bureau of Land Management has begun a NEPA review of its decision to end the coal leasing moratorium; in a May 22 draft environmental assessment it concluded that lifting the lease moratorium would have a negligible effect on emissions.
• Axios reports coal could be used to make high-tech products in a new route to boost the coal industry, according to a report commissioned by the DOE.
• E&E Greenwire reports Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) revived her bill to block future interruptions of federal coal leasing by requiring Congress to sign off on any attempt by the Interior Department to halt coal leasing.
• NPR reports new opportunities for transitioning retired coal plants to other uses.
• The Billings Gazette reports Westmoreland Mining LLC is asking the state of Montana reconsider before allowing Colstrip Power Plant to buy coal from another supplier as the loss would put hundreds of mining jobs at stake.
• E&E News PM reports House Natural Resources Chairman Grijalva wrote three letters to the Interior Department, one of which urged for a full environmental impact statement to review the decision to end the coal leasing moratorium.
• The Columbus Dispatch reports the new version of a clean energy bill would bail out two coal plants in Ohio.
• E&E Energywire reports the Ohio clean air bill which provides subsidies for a pair of coal plants was approved in committee on Thursday and makes its way to the House floor.
• Bloomberg reports the Sierra Club and Charles Koch both hate an Ohio bill to take away renewable subsidies and give them to coal and nuclear plants.
• The Hill reports presidential candidate Julian Castro declared he will refuse contributions to his White House bid by oil, gas and coal industry executives.

 Mining:

• E&E Climatewire reports BHP Group, with a pessimistic outlook on coal, is looking towards other options such as copper and nickel sulfide.

 White House:

• E&E Greenwire reports the Council on Environmental Quality is expecting a fast White House review process as it prepares to release new rules on how the federal government should implement the National Environmental Policy Act.

 Carbon Capture:

• The Washington Examiner reports presidential candidate John Delaney has released a $4 trillion plan to fight climate change, which includes $5 billion a year to reduce the cost of carbon capture technology and a $20 billion “carbon throughway” pipeline.
• E&E Daily reports the Senate version of the annual defense authorization bill includes a provision to boost the military’s energy security through carbon capture technology.

 World News:

• E&E Energywire reports more and more of Asia’s biggest banks are no longer providing loans or extending credit to new coal-fired power plants, posing long-term challenges to exporters in the U.S.

In the news today…

Minerals:

• Bloomberg reports rare earth minerals characterize a tech vulnerability for the U.S. in its trade war with China.

Coal:

• EIA reports U.S. coal stockpiles decreased to 98.7 million tons in February 2019, their lowest value in more than a decade.
• Gizmodo reports cases of black lung may be increasing due to modern technology uncovering thinner layers of coal with more layers of rock, producing more silica dust.
• The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Gov. Jim Justice’s family companies filed a lawsuit against OSMRE for reneging on an agreement concerning unpaid penalties and reclamation fees.
• E&E Climatewire reports 21 youths are suing the government, asking for a moratorium on all federal fossil fuel permitting, including mining.
• Bloomberg reports BHP Group, the world’s biggest miner, has a grim outlook for thermal coal and won’t add production as it prioritizes growth in commodities tied to the shift to renewable energy and electric transport.
• Argus reports the National Coal Council recommends DOE should invest in technologies to expand the uses of coal beyond power production.
• Argus reports demand for coal has failed to pick up heading into summer as average profits for power producers using the fuel have fallen to seasonal seven-year lows across most of the central and eastern U.S.
• E&E Daily reports House appropriators outlined an extra $5 million in grant funding for struggling coal communities that largely blame the party for coal’s troubles.

EPA:

• E&E Daily reports Tuesday House Democrats and a string of witnesses denounced EPA’s plans for revisiting its regulations on power industry mercury emissions.

Carbon Capture:

• Mining.com reports both environmentalists and fossil fuel industry representative have vested interests in carbon capture technology and met in Wyoming to strategize on ways to get commercial carbon capture and storage off the ground across the U.S.
• E&E Energywire reports a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp. is teaming up with a Canadian company to design the world’s largest plant to remove CO2 from the air in Texas.

Supreme Court:

• E&E Greenwire reports the Maui County Council’s Governance, Ethics and Transparency Committee met for more than five hours yesterday, but no decision has been made on whether to settle the CWA case pending at the Supreme Court.

In the news today…

Coal:

• Crain’s Cleveland Business reports the demand for coal is dropping due to market forces, not the government.
• The Flathead Beacon, Tech Know Bits, the Mayfield Recorder, Power Engineering and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch carry a previously run article stating demand for coal is losing ground to renewables and natural gas.
• The Dayton Daily News reports nearly 100,000 coal miners are at risk of losing their pensions and are petitioning lawmakers to vote on bills to save their pensions.
• The Casper Star Tribune carries a column arguing for support for coal miners’ pensions in the wake of mine company bankruptcies and coal mine closures.
• CBS News reports climate activist Bill McKibben advocates abandoning coal as soon as possible and moving straight to renewable energy.
• Vox reports that the world’s richest institutions, such as Harvard, invest in fossil fuels, and activists want to change that.
• CBS News reports many coal miners are switching over to jobs in renewable energy, such as wind generated power, as coal mining employment prospects decrease.
• The Cap Times carries an op-ed by Don Wichert in which he states that Madison Gas & Electric’s portfolio remains dominated by coal, despite investments into renewable energies.

Minerals:

• PoliticoPro reports the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will consider two bills today aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on foreign minerals. The hearing begins at 10 AM.
• PoliticoPro reports Sen. Murkowski will “take a look at” the hardrock mining reform bill, but was not optimistic about the legislation.

In the news today and from the weekend…

Coal:

• The Billings Gazette reports Montana’s congressional Republicans are backing a tax break on refined coal in hopes of sparking investment in Colstrip Power Plant.
• Wyoming Public Media reports Rocky Mountain Power is proposing to reduce capacity at the coal-fired Jim Bridger power plant in order to lower emissions.
• The Washington Post runs a negative article stating President Trump’s pro-coal agenda has overridden attempts to protect endangered species.
• The Casper Star Tribune, Fox News and Argus report Cloud Peak filed for bankruptcy on Friday.
• Argus reports new U.S. coal plants will be smaller, cleaner and more efficient, according to a DOE official, and will fill the gaps renewables cannot support.
• E&E Energywire reports the fight over the Washington coal export terminal heads to the 9^th Circuit to challenge Washington state’s blockage of the project.
• WSAZ reports Consol Energy Inc. expects to open a metallurgical coal mine in southwestern West Virginia in 2021.

Minerals:

• E&E Daily reports the Senate will hold a hearing on two bills, the American Mineral Security Act and Rare Earth Element Advanced Coal Technologies Act, which focus on import reliance for critical minerals.

Supreme Court/EPA:

• E&E Greenwire and Inside EPA report the Maui County submitted a brief breaking down the language in their court case, County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, a case with sweeping implications for Clean Water Act permitting.

Energy Policy:

• E&E Daily reports two congressional panels this week will look at how best to deliver the next generation of clean energy, including legislation to bolster research into carbon capture and storage technology.

World News:

• CNN reports the UK went a full week, from May 1 to May 8, without burning coal, the first time since 1882 when the first coal-fired power plant started running.

In the news today…

Coal:

• Greentech Media reports PacifiCorp is taking the first steps to replacing its coal-fired power plants with wind, solar and energy storage resources.
• E&E Greenwire reports the Interior Department has approved the expansion of a New Mexico coal mine despite the expectation that it will soon lose its only customer and close.
• S&P Global reports Peabody states a 14.4 percent drop in revenue compared to the first quarter of last year, though executives remain optimistic.
• The Salt Lake Tribune and Argus report Kennecott Utah Copper is shutting down its last coal power plant in Magna and shifting to renewable energy.
• U.S. News and E&E Energywire report the Justice Department has started a civil investigation into the coal-fueled power plant that Mississippi Power Co. had been building in Kemper County, Mississippi.
• E&E Energywire reports dying coal plants are being transformed into facilities for the wind industry.

Minerals:

• S&P Global reports the rise of renewable energy could be a boon for global mining companies but could also raise scrutiny to corporate responsibility practices.
• Transport Topics reports the US trails China and other countries in lithium mining, essential for EV batteries.
• PoliticoPro reports a Canadian official says he’s pressing for the Trump administration to forgo import restrictions on uranium that would hurt Canada’s mining industry.

Technology:

• Inside EPA reports House Democrats are dragging their feet to advance legislation to further encourage carbon capture, utilization and storage technology.