Leading Light Energy

an energy blog by Terry M. Jarrett

Category Archives: Coal

Media Alert!

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Thanks to the Pottstown Mercury (Pa.), Exton Daily Local (Pa.), Swarthmore Times Herald (Pa.), Lansdale Reporter (Pa.), Delaware County Daily Times (Pa.), Mainline Times and Suburban (Pa.), Yahoo News (USA), Wichita Falls Times Record News (Texas) and The Trentonian (N.J.) for carrying my new op-ed in which I argue that we need to rethink the role existing coal plants can play in getting us to our energy future.

Manhattan Contrarian: The Future of Energy: One of These is not Real

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Over at the Manhattan Contrarian, Francis Menton penned a great article entitled, “The Future Of Energy: One Of These Things Is Not Real.” Mr. Menton points out the difference between fantasy and reality when it comes to the future of energy. One of the follies is that the use of coal will end soon. An excerpt:

What then is happening in the reality on the ground? In a post just a couple of days ago, I took note of a gigantic new Arctic oil project just getting underway from the Russians. So that’s one thing. How about coal. Yes, plenty of that is also getting developed right now, and by private money and outside the U.S., so there is little or nothing that the Biden Administration or environmental litigants can do to stop it. The Times of India has a piece from June 5 with the headline “India, Australia, China, Russia pushing ‘massive’ coal expansion.” Excerpt:

Coal producers are actively pursuing 2.2 billion tonnes per annum of new mine projects around the world, a growth of 30 per cent from current production levels, a new report from Global Energy Monitor said on Thursday. The first-of-its-kind analysis surveyed 432 proposed coal projects globally and found a handful of provinces and states in China, Russia, India, and Australia are responsible for 77 per cent (1.7 billion tonnes per annum) of new mine activity.

He also discusses the folly of offshore wind for the U.S. The entire article is well worth the read.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Texas grid failure shows need for reliable electricity

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Many thanks to the Alaska Journal of Commerce (AK), Casper Star Tribune (WY), Memphis Commercial Appeal (TN), Logan Daily News (OH), Somerset Daily American (PA) and The Tennessean (TN) for carrying my op-ed on the effects of the Polar Vortex on the electric grid and the importance of coal for power generation to keep the lights on.

Coal rescues U.S. power grid during Polar Vortex

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Thanks to the Pottstown Mercury (PA), Exton Daily Local (PA), Swarthmore Times Herald (PA), Lansdale Reporter (PA), Delaware County Daily Times (PA), Phoenixville News (PA), Mainline Media News (PA), Elkhart Truth (IN) and Roanoke Times (VA) for carrying my new op-ed on the necessity of coal generation during extreme weather conditions, like the current Polar Vortex gripping the country.

Three regional grid operators–Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), have instituted rolling blackouts due to insufficient power generation. For SPP, this is the first load shedding event in its long history. For MISO, this is the second such event in 16 months (the first was due to the Hurricane Laura disaster). The reason for the energy insufficiency is simple–coal plants in this country were retired prematurely as utilities scrambled to jump on the “clean energy” bandwagon. Now, we can expect rolling blackouts to become the norm. Welcome to the future!

September 3 News Round Up

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In the news today…

Minerals:

  • Mining.com reports Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports cobalt hydroxide prices surged by more than 22% to more than $26,000 per tonne in August from July, while cobalt sulphate prices jumped 18.5% to average over $8,000 a tonne on the back of supply disruption and strong demand from the consumer electronics sector.
  • Nature Communications carries a research report that states renewable energy production is necessary to halt climate change and reverse associated biodiversity losses, but generating the required technologies and infrastructure will drive an increase in the production of many metals, creating new mining threats for biodiversity.

Coal:

  • Argus reports US power producers are considering running more coal-fired plants seasonally as utilization rates have fallen to historic lows, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
  • Argus reports coal exports out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, rose in July from June’s nearly four-year low but still lagged year-earlier levels.
  • Argus reports the Ohio Senate is grappling with a number if of issues early in its debate on whether to repeal subsidies for nuclear and coal plants after they were linked to a $60mn bribery scheme.

Carbon Capture:

  • County 17 reports the possibility of carbon capture storage in the Powder River Basin advances with a geophysical survey to test the viability of building a commercial-scale complex underground.

Will Electricity Be Affordable in Post-COVID America?

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Thanks to the Pottstown Mercury (PA), Exton Daily Local (PA), Phoenix Reporter and Item (PA), Mainline Media News (PA), Swarthmore Times Herald (PA), Lansdale Reporter (PA), Delaware County Times (PA), Fort Myers News Press (FL), Deseret News (UT), Huntington Herald Dispatch (WV) and the Waco Tribune Herald (TX) for carrying my new op-ed on how coal will be an important resource for preserving affordable electricity prices as we recover from COVID-19.