In the news today…
Coal:
- The Huntington Herald-Dispatch carries an editorial in which the author writes the future of mines in West Virginia that sell coal into the power market will remain dim unless new technologies, new market demands or new regulations make coal competitive again.
- Argus reports Generator FirstEnergy Solutions has closed two of the three coal-fired generation units at the Bruce Mansfield power plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, two years ahead of the original retirement schedule.
Power Grid:
- Bloomberg reports PJM Interconnection LLC Chief Executive Officer Andy Ott states that the grid can handle the closing of 30,000 MW, more than enough to cover the closure of the slated 18,000 MW of coal and nuclear plants.
World News:
- Axios reports that one region of Australia will be zero percent dependent on coal and 100 percent dependent on renewables by next year, a shift from 90 percent dependent on coal a decade ago.
- Financial Times reports a senior London commodity hedge fund manager is forecasting coal demand in Europe will collapse within three years, betting that the price of EU carbon emission allowances will soar to levels that force power stations to close across the continent.