Tag: Coal
Group: EPA’s Coordinated Regulatory Assault on Coal Power Could Push Retirements Beyond 86 GW by 2030
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is readying a regulatory sweep targeting more stringent limits on traditional pollutants that could accelerate coal power plant closures. A coal trade group estimates that even without new rules, 86 GW of coal generation is slated to retire by 2030.
While the U.S. Supreme Court in June curtailed the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants, the EPA is working on other rules in “an integrated and coordinated approach” that will allow the agency to tackle “threats” posed by power plants to clean air, safe water, and healthy land, EPA Administrator Michael Regan has said.
The EPA chief recently told Reuters the agency remains undeterred by the Supreme Court’s constraints. “We want to present the industry with a suite of regulations so that they can make the best long-term investments possible,” the news agency quoted Regan as saying on July 29. “The power sector will … look at the cost benefit of complying with those and more than likely stay with the conclusion that … clean energy is more cost effective for them and for their customers,” he reportedly said.…
JERA Readying to Start 1-GW Coal Plant as Japan Scrambles to Secure Power Supplies
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called for up to nine nuclear plants to be put into operation to mitigate tight supplies expected this winter. The country could meanwhile resume operation of more than 10 thermal power plants to ensure electricity security this summer, he said.
Kishida’s comments at a press conference on July 14 come as the nation grapples with a summer power crunch. Earlier this summer, the Japanese government issued an “electricity shortage alert” for the first time under a new system as parts of the nation, including Tokyo, Saitama, Tochigi, and Ibaraki prefectures, suffered record-high heat.
Security of country’s power supplies has been compounded by the slow startup of its nuclear power plants, which were shut down after the March 2011 Fukushima disaster, as well as retirements of aging thermal plants for environmental reasons. So far, only 10 of Japan’s 33 reactors are operating. Another seven have been cleared by the nation’s nuclear regulator.
The country is meanwhile suffering a surge in fuel prices, which stems from tight markets in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.…
Two Killed in Collapse of Coal Pile at Colorado Power Plant
Two employees of a company that manages coal-handling operations for Xcel Energy’s Comanche Generating Station in Colorado were killed June 2 when they were trapped in a coal pile that collapsed at the power plant.
The collapse happened Thursday morning about 8:30 a.m. Mountain time, according to officials. Rescue crews located the victims Thursday afternoon. Officials said the victims, whose names were not immediately released, were working on the 80-foot-high pile of coal. Officials said it is not known what the workers, sub-contractors from Savage Services, were doing at the time of the incident.
Comanche is a three-unit coal-fired plant. Comanche’s 857-MW Unit 3 is the largest coal-burning unit in Colorado.
Pueblo Fire Inspector and Public Information Officer Erik Duran told media, “EMS emergency services responders on site determined that [the victims] were dead on scene.” Duran said responders recovered the bodies of “two men, one in his 20s and one in his 30s. We reached the first victim at around 3 p.m.…
India Plans to Reduce Coal-Fired Generation, and Mine More Coal
India’s Power Ministry, despite the country facing shortages of electricity in recent years and as recently as the past month, said it plans to reduce the amount of power generation from at least 81 of the country’s 173 coal-fired power plants over the next four years.
The agency, in a letter dated May 26 that was sent to top federal government, state, and energy department officials, said the country needs to support renewable resources to maximize cleaner power generation and reduce energy costs. The agency, though, said the plan does not include closing older coal-fired power plants.
“The thermal power plants in [the] future shall operate up to the technical minimum to accommodate cheaper renewable energy when it is available,” the ministry said in the letter. The International Energy Agency has said India, with a population of about 1.4 billion, is expected to see its demand for electricity more than double by 2030. Much of that demand comes as more and more homes and offices install air conditioning.…
Keeping Coal Relevant: University of Wyoming Leads the Way
To say the coal industry faces challenges is an understatement. Coal-fired power plants are being retired around the globe as efforts to decarbonize the world’s power supply have intensified due to climate change concerns. That’s a problem for people working in the coal industry, as well as for states and governments that rely on coal revenue to fuel their economies.
Wyoming is one of those states. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Wyoming produced more than 239 million tons of coal in 2021. That’s more than three times the amount produced in West Virginia, the second-largest coal producing state in the U.S.
“Wyoming is the energy state,” Scott Quillinan, senior director of research for the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “Our mission here at the School of Energy Resources is energy-driven economic development for the state of Wyoming. … We support the energy industry here through academic programs, research programs, and outreach and engagement.”…