Energy
The Struggling Coal Industry Hammered Further By Coronavirus
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‘Everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong’
WSKG (https://wskg.org/tag/coal/)
‘Everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong’
“We are following government guidelines with distancing measures being taken, increased cleaning schedules in-place, and limits on gatherings of groups.”
DEP acting on governor’s executive order — which Republicans are challenging
Pennsylvania is getting less money from the federal government this year to clean up its old abandoned mines.
Proposed bill would require Legislature to OK Pennsylvania becoming part of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Rules on coal ash ponds, wastewater from coal-fired power plants are targeted
Pennsylvania is the third-largest coal producing state in the country. But coal generated electricity plants have struggled to compete with cheaper natural gas and renewable energy.
Coal-fired power plants keep closing and communities around the country must decide what to do with those sites. Pennsylvania has a plan, aiming to create new jobs where the old ones have been lost.
The owners want to convert it into a 100 megawatt data center. Their proposal includes a seventy-five acre solar farm, and they will apply to the state for a 125 megawatt renewable energy allocation.
Alabama company has until 2033 to plug wells or put them back into production
A new report finds coal ash pollution is leaking into groundwater at nine power plants around Pennsylvania and over 200 nationwide. West Pa. site has arsenic 372 times the ‘safe’ level
Nearly 130,000 homes in the U.S. still burn coal for heat. Despite decades of decline and concerns about climate change, companies in the coal home-heating business are optimistic about the future.
Pittsburgh researchers are working on potentially cheaper ways to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants. So-called “clean coal” technology is expensive, but some experts say it’s crucial to address climate change.
“We’re not dead yet, we’ve still got a pulse in Mahanoy City. Thank God Trump lifted all the regulations on coal…coal is gonna be king.”
The company says there is still time for a federal bailout to save its struggling coal plants
For generations, coal power has fueled American prosperity. But for each shovelful thrown into the furnaces, a pile of ash was left in its place.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will spend $55 million on abandoned mine cleanup projects around the state.
Ohio-based utility FirstEnergy Solutions made waves last month when it asked the Department of Energy to grant it an emergency order to help keep coal and nuclear plants operating across the Ohio Valley.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Pennsylvania announced approval of $25 million in funding for cleanup of abandoned mines at 12 sites around the state.
While the president mentioned energy in his first State of the Union speech Tuesday night, he offered few details about his energy priorities.
An independent federal commission terminated a Trump administration proposal that would have propped up struggling coal and nuclear plants. On Monday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — an independent body with both Republican and Democratic members – unanimously rejected the Department of Energy’s “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule.”
The plan would have forced grid operators to guarantee “full recovery of costs” plus “a fair rate of return” to power plants that can keep 90 days of fuel on-site. Only coal and nuclear plants can do that. Read full story here.
While the United States burned less coal in 2017 than it had in three decades, an uptick in global demand for Appalachia’s metallurgical coal — used in the steelmaking process — helped boost production this past year, according to a new analysis by an economic research firm. Coal production rose 6 percent across the United States in 2017, which coincided with a 70 percent jump in coal exports, according to the Rhodium Group. Read full story here.
Coal was a vital industry in Appalachia for a century, but its environmental effects and economics have undermined its power, leaving many once employed by the industry floundering. In a special team report from West Virginia Public Radio, the Allegheny Front, and High Plains News produced by Clay Scott, we explore the past and future for coal mining areas and the people that live there.
Stream or Download Living with the Rise and Fall of King Coal