From The New York Times America’s coal-burning power plants are shutting down at a rapid pace, forcing electric utilities to face the next big climate question: Embrace natural gas, or shift aggressively to renewable energy? Some large utilities, including Xcel Energy in the Upper Midwest, are now planning to sharply cut their coal and gas use in favor of clean and abundant
By Tyler Losier, Energy Reporter, Oil & Gas 360 Renewables edge out coal for the first time in U.S. history This April, for the first time in U.S. history, monthly electricity generation from renewable sources exceeded that of coal-fired means, according to the EIA. More precisely, coal was responsible for about 20% of the nation’s electricity, whereas renewables such as
By Tyler Losier, Energy Reporter, Oil & Gas 360 Wing Resources to sell assets for $145 million Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (stock ticker: ARLP) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire oil and gas mineral interests in the Permian Basin from Wing Resources LLC/Wing Resources II LLC for a cash purchase price of $145 million. The deal
By Tyler Losier, Energy Reporter, Oil & Gas 360 Proposal calls for the transition to occur by 2038 A government-appointed coal commission in Germany has laid the groundwork for a plan to phase out the use of coal completely by 2038. The move is coupled with an effort to eliminate nuclear power as well, with the goal of transitioning Germany
Company is expanding wind generation, using nuclear energy, adding a natural gas plant Xcel Energy announced plans today to retire its last two coal plants in the Upper Midwest a decade earlier than scheduled. Xcel plans to expand wind and solar, using natural gas and operate its carbon-free Monticello nuclear plant until at least 2040. If approved, the plan would
Cloud Peak Energy Receives Court Approval of “First Day” Motions to Support Business Operations
From the Casper Star Tribune Cloud Peak Energy, the coal giant that operates two Wyoming mines, filed for bankruptcy Friday amid mounting debt and declining demand. The filing follows months of troubling signs for the Powder River Basin operator, which for a time avoided the economic difficulties of its competitors but had of late experienced growing financial challenges as the market
From the Casper Star-Tribune Cloud Peak Energy gained another week of reprieve last Tuesday, when the coal company reached an agreement with creditors to extend a grace period for their unpaid debt until May 7. In a filing last Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the coal firm that operates the Antelope and Cordero Rojo mines in Campbell County
From the Casper Star-Tribune Westmoreland Coal’s path in Wyoming The bankruptcy judge in the Westmoreland case ruled in favor of the coal firm Friday, which had sought to eliminate retiree health benefits and break the Kemmerer coal mine’s union contract. Miners lost on both counts, though now the buyer of the Kemmerer mine will be obligated to bargain a new contract
From Bloomberg A natural gas supply disruption forcing Michigan residents to lower thermostats and automakers to suspend operations could bolster President Donald Trump’s effort to keep coal plants operating possibly by invoking national security powers. The episode began Wednesday when a fire at a compressor station cut off the flow of natural gas from the facility. That prompted Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
From Power Magazine Colorado-based Westmoreland Coal Co. on October 9 said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with the company reporting more than $1.4 billion in debt. The company in its annual financial report in April of this year said it was considering bankruptcy in an effort to protect it from creditors. Westmoreland, which has operated for 164 years,
From IEEFA Coal producers delivered 51.4 million tons of coal, 6.6% of the coal mined in the U.S. in 2017, to power plants scheduled to retire in the next 10 years as a secular decline in domestic demand continues to erode the size of the U.S. coal market. While U.S. producers have had some luck moving their product overseas in
