A week in coal: 16 – 20 November 2015

Clean coal technologies

• The World Coal Association recently published a report highlighting the role of high-efficiency, low-emission coal technologies in helping meeting India’s growing energy demands while minimising CO2 emissions.
• Andrea Clavarnio, Chairman of Assocarboni, the Italian coal association, has called for policies to support the development of cleaner coal technology – including carbon capture and storage – to be accepted at COP21.
• The IEA Clean Coal Centre has said it is concerned at the lack of any substantial mention of carbon capture and storage and biomass in the UK government’s energy plan.
• US coal company, Peabody Energy, has called on policymakers to recognise the important role coal plays in the global energy mix and support development of high-efficiency low-emission coal and CCS technologies.
• OECD countries, including the UE, Germany and Japan, have agreed to limit official export credits for subcritical and supercritical coal-fired power plants.

Coal-fired power

• The Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Amber Rudd, has announced that the UK will close all of its remaining coal-fired power plants by 2025, bringing an end to the fuel that has powered the country since the Industrial Revolution.
• Phil Hewitt, Director of UK energy industry analysts, EnAppSys, provides insight into the government’s decision to phase-out coal-fired power plants by 2025.

Projects

• The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has invited the public to comment on what should be examined in the environmental assessment of CanAus Coal Ltd’s Michel Creek Coking Coal project.
• Peabody Energy’s Wambo coal mine has received approval from the New South Wales government to develop three new longwall panels.

Corporate affairs

• Westmoreland Coal Company has announced that Brian Blackman has joined the company as Director of Investor Relations. Blackman is a seasoned executive with more than 10 years of experience in investor relations.
• The Cline Group has appointed James O. Bunn II as the new Vice President of Operations for Cline affiliate, Cutlass Collieries LLC.
• Atrum Coal appoints Bob Bell as Executive Director and Chairman of the company and announces head office move to Vancouver, Canada.

Company updates

• As a result of persistent low commodity prices, Teck Resources is cutting back on spending, employees and Coal Mountain Phase 2 development to reduce costs and save capital.
• Martin Engineering has announced the formation of a new global business unit focusing on the cleaning of boilers and air pollution control components in the power, biomass, pulp and paper and cement industries.
• Australian coal company, Cockatoo Coal, and three related companies have gone into voluntary administration.

Energy and coal demand

• The UK is on the verge of an energy crisis, according to a new report, with energy demand set to outstrip dispatchable supply for the first time from early 2016.
• A shift to colder and wetter conditions in Europe, as well as a tightening of supply in both Atlantic and Pacific basin, could boost short-term coal prices.
• As reported by the EIA, China and India accounted for 98% of the increase in world coal trade from 2008 to 2013, but declines in China's import demand have led to declines in total world coal trade in 2014 and, based on preliminary data, in 2015 as well.

Not to be missed …

• Belt Conveyor Guarding, a company that designs and manufactures safety guarding for industrial equipment, detail the importance of conveyor guarding and safety.
• Coal production in the US for the week ending 7 November fell slightly from the previous week, continuing to trend below 2014, according to the latest report from the Energy Information Agency.
• At the world’s first pilot plant in Duisburg, Thyssenkrupp and TU Berlin develop an eco-friendly process to convert gases generated during coke production into ammonium bicarbonate and marketable materials.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/20112015/a-week-in-coal-16-20-november-2015-3189/