Coal Prices

Obama's New Proposed Regulations On Coal Energy Production Met With Ire Through Kentucky's Coal Country

With US natural gas production growth and subsequent natural gas price declines coal has been backed out of the power generation fuel mix to some extent. As a result, US coal producers are exporting greater volumes to European and Asian buyers, which is a trend that alarms many in the environmental community who fear negative… Keep reading →

200 Miners Trapped Underground After Fire In Mine

As the death toll in a coal mine explosion in the western Turkish town of Soma climbs toward 300, devastated workers and residents are lashing out at the country’s leadership. Widespread protests have broken out in several cities as people blame the government for prioritizing profit over safety. Numerous coal mining operations have been privatized,… Keep reading →

Obama Arrives Back To White House After Trip To Tennessee

The New York Times’ Coral Davenport tally’s the emissions numbers on Keystone XL which show the oil infrastructure project would likely have a limited impact on climate change. The anti-Keystone movement largely acknowledges this, but says the fact that presidential approval is required makes it a potent climate change symbol that indicates the United States’… Keep reading →

Climate Protection - Photo Illustrations

Coal consumption has been increasing in past months as natural gas prices pushed upwards and coal stocks dipped lower. With natural gas the peak-load fuel of choice for many utilities, base load summer cooling could be powered by lots of comparatively cheaper coal – with gas peaker plants firing up when demand surges and thus… Keep reading →

Climate Protection - Photo Illustrations

For many utilities there is a razor-thin difference in the price of electricity generated by natural gas and by coal. Slight changes in fuel price can produce dramatic swings in production costs, creating market opportunities for utilities with both gas- and coal-fired assets. Utilities considering new gas-fired assets have several options. Key among them is… Keep reading →

Strong Exports Force Coal Ships Bottleneck

Rising energy costs are increasingly dominating political agendas in many countries around the world both developed and developing. The U.S. shale revolution with domestic cheap natural gas has started to bite into coal’s U.S. power generation market share, which can be attributed to the coal-to-gas switch of power utilities. Note, that any change in U.S.… Keep reading →

RWE Struggles To Remain Profitable, Mulls Closing Garzweiler Mine

Germany is facing an energy paradox where significant increases in renewably-generated power – mostly from wind and solar – are being surpassed by increases in coal-fired power. Part of the reason stems from the country’s decision to phase out its nuclear fleet. A majority of the nuclear generation capacity that has come offline – 8… Keep reading →

RWE Struggles To Remain Profitable, Mulls Closing Garzweiler Mine

MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to buy nearly 450 2.3-megawatt wind turbines – with an estimated collective value of over $1 billion – from Siemens. “MidAmerican is expanding in wind as costs fall.” [Bloomberg] China’s move to tackle air pollution could push major Australian coal mining operations from… Keep reading →

Coal Mine Expansion Threatens Villages

A defining moment in the ongoing shift in the US’ energy landscape occurred in April 2012, when natural gas accounted for as big a share of electricity generation as coal for the first time since the Energy Information Administration began collecting that data. Abundant, cheap natural gas had edged a good deal of coal out… Keep reading →

BHP Billiton Announces Record Financial Results

The investment banking community recently picked up on this trend and the EIA’s latest Today In Energy post details greater coal use in the US power sector compared with last year. Although power generators’ fuel portfolios vary by region, at the national level, higher 2013 natural gas prices relative to coal prices motivate utilities to… Keep reading →

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