Registration is Now Open for the Bluefield Coal Symposium
The Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias based in Bluefield and Princeton, WV has announced that Registration is now open for the 2024 Bluefield Coal Symposium taking place at the Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton, WV on August 12-14.
Full details and Registration Forms can be found at CoalZoom.com. There are a number of Packages available. Package A, which includes everything, costs $495.00 per person. There are three technical sessions, two dinners with top class live entertainment, and one lunch. Package A (Student or Retired) also includes everything and costs $225.00 per person. Package E includes Everything plus the “Exhibition in Print” Table and MINExpo Package. This costs $995.00 per person.
“At the Symposium we are very proud to have distinguished decision makers “dig” into the current issues in the coal industry and examine the challenges and opportunities of coal so we can all see what the future of the industry looks like,” said Bill Reid, Chair of the Symposium and Managing Editor of CoalZoom.com ”As the American coal industry gets more compact, the opportunities for gatherings of this kind for coal people will get less and less, and early registration will ensure guaranteed entrance to this one-of-a-kind event.”
Bill Reid
The Bluefield Coal Symposium has the theme Using US Coal for a Better America. This national event is jointly presented by the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias and CoalZoom.com. The Symposium has four main goals:
- to aid the search for zero accidents;
- to lift the spirits of those serving the coal industry and bring everyone together;
- to help promote MINExpo INTERNATIONAL®;
· to examine the challenges and opportunities for coal.
“The American coal industry makes a $28 billion economic contribution to the Nation each year and there are 68,179 employees at coal mines, including contractors, with both direct and indirect workers totaling 324,800,” said Reid. “We will examine the future of coal and this Symposium will certainly be one of the major events in the 2024 coal calendar leading up to MINExpo®.”
The Symposium includes entertainment with special live performances by Twitty and Lynn, who will provide a Salute to Conway & Loretta, as well as an appearance of Exile, who will perform many of their hit songs.
For further information on this marquee event, please contact the Chamber of Commerce at (304) 327-7184 or visit CoalZoom.com. Bill Reid can be reached at billreidcoal@gmail.com.
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World Coal Market: Brief Overview
Over the past week, thermal coal indices on the European market plunged below 115 USD/t, pressured by lower consumption, as well as a significant reduction in gas prices, caused by the weakening of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which had previously supported the market.
US coal shipments, that could not be delivered through the port in Baltimore, due to the collapsed bridge, were diverted to Hampton Roads terminals, including Norfolk.
Gas quotations at the TTF hub corrected downward to 321 USD/1,000 m3 (-29 USD/1,000 m3 w-o-w) as the threat of escalation between Iran and Israel seems to have been lifted.
Coal stocks at ARA terminals totaled 5.6 mio t (-0.3 mio t or -5% w-o-w) mainly because of the re-export to Mediterranean countries and reduced supplies to European countries amid low demand.
South African High-CV 6,000 declined below 105 USD/t on weaker demand and lower prices in Europe as well as increased supply from South Africa, putting pressure on indices. Furthermore, some Indian sponge iron producers switched to Australian 5,500 coal owing to its competitive price, compared to South African material.
Railway operator Transnet announced the termination of a 5-year contract with a security organization, hired in August 2023, to ensure the safety of railway infrastructure. According to Transnet, the contractor failed to properly fulfill its obligations.
To continue reading, click here to view the full article on CoalZoom.com.
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West Virginia Representatives Respond to EPA's New Rule Change
Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are the Biden administration’s most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the power sector, the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change. The rules are a key part of President Joe Biden’s pledge to eliminate carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and economy-wide by 2050.
But, that announcement has West Virginia officials coming out swinging against that rule.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito Released the following statement:
“With the latest iteration of the illegal Clean Power Plan 2.0 announced today, President Biden has inexplicably doubled down on his plans to shut down the backbone of America’s electric grid through unachievable regulatory mandates. Electricity demand is set to skyrocket thanks in part to the EPA’s own electric vehicles mandate, and unfortunately, Americans are already paying higher utility bills under President Biden. Despite all this, the administration has chosen to press ahead with its unrealistic climate agenda that threatens access to affordable, reliable energy for households and employers across the country.
Shelley Moore Capito
“To protect millions of Americans, including energy workers, against executive overreach that has already been tried and rejected by the Supreme Court, I will be introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to overturn the EPA’s job-killing regulations announced today.”
To continue reading, click here to view the full article on CoalZoom.com.
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UMWA President Says Federal Power Plant Rules Set Funeral Date For Coal Mining
United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts contends newly-final federal rules on power plants represent a nail in the coffin for coal mining.
Cecil Roberts
“We are analyzing the potential impact of this rule on our membership and will have more to say after that analysis is completed,” Roberts said this week.
“At first glance, however, this rule looks to set the funeral date for thermal coal mining in America for 2032 – just seven and a half years away – along with the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are directly and indirectly associated with it.”
Under the EPA rule announced this wee, coal plants that plan to stay open beyond 2039 would have to cut or capture 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2032. Plants that expect to retire by 2039 would face a less stringent standard but still would have to capture some emissions. Coal plants that are set to retire by 2032 would not be subject to the new rules.
To continue reading, click here to view the full article on CoalZoom.com.
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EPA Doubles Down on the Grid Reliability Crisis
The Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) has unleashed a suite of rules specifically designed to force the closure of well-operating coal plants and they did so with absolutely no analysis of the collective impact of these rules on the nation’s alarmingly shaky grid reliability.
“For the last three years, the administration has methodically developed and executed a comprehensive strategy to force the closure of well-operating coal plants,” said Rich Nolan, NMA president and CEO. “It has refused to account for irrefutable evidence that electricity demand is soaring, disregarded validated reliability warnings from grid experts related to coal plant closures, and ignored the basic fact that there is no adequate replacement ready to replace the sorely needed, dispatchable generating capacity coal provides once it is shuttered. We’ve seen this unlawful regulatory playbook before, challenged it and the Supreme Court agreed with our take; we will do so again and expect the same outcome.”
As outlined in the NMA’s recent white paper, “The Grid Reliability Crisis Collides with Surging Power Demand,” much of the U.S. grid is at risk with surging new electricity demand colliding with policy-driven power plant closures and mounting challenges to bring new resources and enabling infrastructure to the grid. While much of the coverage today has reprinted EPA talking points, stunningly little attention has been given to the existing grid reliability crisis and how remarkably out of step EPA’s regulatory blitz is with what the nation’s reliability experts and grid operators have warned we should be doing to responsibly manage the energy transition.
To continue reading, click here to view the full article on CoalZoom.com.
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