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Coal’s Decline Could Mean More Power Shortages

Via The Washington Examiner: As the need for electricity to power the nation’s digital economy grows, coal is no longer playing a primary role, and that’s problematic, because it undergirds the electric grid and is the most reliable source of energy. Without coal plants that supply base-load power on demand, large parts of the United […]

A Solution in Search of a Problem

It’s not uncommon to hear calls for rebuilding and transforming the electricity grid. In fact, renewable energy boosters say transforming the grid is an imperative if the nation is to reach their goal of 100 percent wind and solar power. But this call for transformation exposes some of the underlying problems with the proposed wind […]

Alabama Coal Industry Posts Record in Met Coal Exports

Via The Birmingham Business Journal:  Alabama’s coal industry posted a gain in 2018. According to the Alabama Coal Association, the state exported 11 million short tons of metallurgical (met) or “coking coal” last year. Valued at $2 billion, the met coal was shipped through the Port of Mobile to steel manufacturers in Europe, South America […]

Can Colorado Go Completely Green?

Via The Gazette: The clean energy movement got a big jumpstart recently with the unveiling of the “Green New Deal.” And even as critics took aim at the plan’s broad agenda and massive price tag, individual states started announcing similar goals. Colorado in particular has moved to the fore, thanks to Gov. Jared Polis’ goal […]

Coal Miners Gather at Capitol to Celebrate Passage of Bills

Via West Virginia MetroNews Coal miners gathered outside the Senate chamber Saturday morning to celebrate passage of two bills aimed at boosting the state’s coal industry. One bill offers severance tax incentives for companies to expand production. The other offers a phased severance tax break to steam coal, which hasn’t rebounded as well as metallurgical […]

Don’t Take Fuel Diversity for Granted

Via The Tribune-Democrat: As U.S. production of liquefied natural gas continues to surge, America is poised to become the world’s third largest LNG exporter, trailing only Australia and the Middle East state of Qatar. Already, huge benefits from LNG commerce are playing out around the world. Growth in LNG exports is reducing our nation’s trade […]

A Most Vital Technology

What technology does Fatih Birol, director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), believe is “most vital” to reducing emissions? Wind or solar power? Nuclear energy or energy storage? It is, in fact, carbon capture. Mr. Birol made his remarks last week in a joint press conference with U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Both are adamant […]

A Warning Not to be Ignored

How valuable is a balanced, diverse mix of energy sources? Just ask the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the grid operator that manages the electricity grid for much of the U.S. Midwest and parts of Canada. When the polar vortex hammered the Midwest at the end of January, the grid weathered the storm, but it […]