South Asia's solar power push is facing a land battle
Food and jobs are at risk when cropland and pastures are taken away. By BhaskerTripathi and Md. Modhera’s 6 megawatts (MW) of solar power and battery storage system were built in 2022, despite the opposition of local farmers who had filed a lawsuit in the highest court for the state in 2020 to stop its construction. According to the research group Land Conflict Watch…
China increases coal mining to provide winter power: Kemp
China's coal production has reached record levels, and its imports have also risen. However, the surge in power generated by solar farms and hydro dams has reduced thermal generation. The reliability of electricity is dependent on coal-fired power generation, especially during the winter when solar and hydro output are lower and the system relies more heavily on fossil fuel.
China increases coal mining to provide winter power: Kemp
China's coal production has reached record levels, and its imports have also risen. However, the surge in power generated by solar farms and hydro dams has reduced thermal generation. The reliability of electricity is dependent on coal-fired power generation, especially during the winter when solar and hydro output are lower and the system relies more heavily on fossil fuels.
Top Australian banks restrict lending to carbon intensive projects
By slowing down lending for carbon-intensive projects, leading Australian banks are increasing their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and align themselves with global climate goals. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's largest lender, announced on Wednesday that it plans to reduce carbon emissions associated with loans and investments for thermal coal mine customers to zero by 2030.
Indonesian Coal Export Ban Rattles a Sector
The world's leading exporter of thermal coal on Saturday banned the shipments because of concerns it could not meet its own power demand, prompting President Joko Widodo on Monday to threaten to revoke business permits for any miners who failed to meet domestic market requirements.In turn, Indonesian coal miners want a quick resolution as fuel prices…
EU Approves $21.27B Just Transition Fund
European Union countries on Monday approved the bloc's flagship fund to wean them off fossil fuels and protect communities most affected, paving the way for members to start receiving the cash.The 17.5 billion euro ($21.27 billion) Just Transition Fund (JTF) combines money from the EU's budget and its COVID-19 recovery fund.It is designed to support communities most affected by plans to shut down coal…
Cheap Gas Killing US Coal -Rystad
A new study revealed that coal power is being replaced by cleaner energy sources in the US – primarily due to an abundance of cheap natural gas.According to Rystad Energy, new renewable energy capacity from solar and wind is on the rise in the US, and April 2019 marked the first month when more electricity was generated in the country from renewable sources than from coal.However…
Coal's Uncertain Future and Glencore's Output Cap
It's been weird in the coal world in recent days, with the world's largest shipper saying it's capping output, biggest seaborne buyer China putting restrictions on some imports, and an Australian court saying mines must factor in climate change.Throw in an executive at a major Indian coal-fired power generator saying his company won't build any new plants as coal can't compete with renewables…
Wyoming, Utah Mull Funding Legal Challenges to West Coast Coal Policies
Lawmakers in coal-producing Utah and Wyoming, faced by a shrinking market for the fuel, this week introduced laws to fund legal challenges in California and Washington of policies that they believe hurt coal sales. A Utah lawmaker on Monday proposed allocating $2 million to cover legal fees to private attorneys that would challenge a California surcharge on Utah coal…
Coal's Future Remains Uncertain
A year after Donald Trump was elected president on a promise to revive the ailing U.S. coal industry, the sector’s long-term prospects for growth and hiring remain as bleak as ever. A Reuters review of mining data shows an industry that has seen only modest gains in jobs and production this year - much of it from a temporary uptick in foreign demand for U.S. coal rather than presidential policy changes. U.S.
Awaiting Trump's coal comeback, miners reject retraining
When Mike Sylvester entered a career training center earlier this year in southwestern Pennsylvania, he found more than one hundred federally funded courses covering everything from computer programming to nursing. He settled instead on something familiar: a coal mining course. "I think there is a coal comeback,” said the 33-year-old son of a miner. Despite broad consensus about coal's bleak future…
U.S. Interior Chief Seeks Changes at U.S. Monuments
The head of the U.S. Department of the Interior urged President Donald Trump to lift restrictions on activities such as logging and mining in or to shrink the footprints of 10 national monuments, according to the Washington Post. The Post, citing a copy of the recommendations, said late on Sunday that U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had recommended reducing boundaries for Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante…
Guangzhou Halts Foreign Coal Imports
Port handles 60 mln tonnes/year of foreign and domestic seaborne coal. Guangzhou port, the largest coal transport hub in southern China, has halted foreign coal imports, according to traders who use the port and said they had been informed of the shutdown by customs authorities and senior company officials. Traders said the move caught merchants using…
Coal Price Surge Justified by China's Dynamics: Russell
How much of the current surge in thermal coal prices in Asia is because of a fundamental shift in the supply-demand balance, and how much is down to speculative froth? This is a question often asked when a commodity experiences a strong gain - or drop - in price, especially when the fundamentals don't appear to have shifted that much, at least on a casual view.
Germany's Long Goodbye to Coal Despite Merkel's Green Push
Coal needed for power supply security for decades. Burning coal for power looks set to remain the backbone of Germany's energy supply for decades yet, an apparent contrast to Chancellor Angela Merkel's ambitions for Europe's biggest economy to be a role model in tackling climate change. Merkel is avoiding the sensitive subject of phasing out coal, which could hit tens of thousands of jobs, in the campaign for the Sept.
U.S. Coal Exports Soar, Revived in Part by New Energy Policy
U.S. coal exports have jumped more than 60 percent this year due to soaring demand from Europe and Asia, according to a Reuters review of government data, allowing President Donald Trump's administration to claim that efforts to revive the battered industry are working. The increased shipments came as the European Union and other U.S. allies heaped criticism on the Trump administration for its rejection of the Paris Climate Accord…
Rio Picks Yancoal for Coal Sale
Rio sticks with Yancoal over Glencore for coal mine sale. Rio Tinto on Monday confirmed Yancoal Australia as the preferred buyer for its Australian Coal & Allied unit after the China-backed company added an eleventh-hour sweetener to top a rival bid from Glencore. Yancoal, increased its offer to $2.69 billion from $2.45 billion, adding $240 million in unconditional guaranteed royalty payments to a cash offer of $2.45 billion.
Rio Tinto recommends Yancoal coal offer over Glencore
Rio says Yancoal deal could be agreed more quickly; says Yancoal has improved offer. Rio Tinto selected Yancoal on Tuesday to buy its Coal & Allied division in Australia for $2.45 billion, surprising commodities trading giant Glencore which had put in a higher bid. Earlier this month, Glencore offered $2.55 billion cash for Rio's coal mines in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales…
Adani's Carmichael Mine is Coal's Game-breaker
The world's biggest planned coal mine is once again lurching toward the finish line as India's Adani Enterprises moves ahead with a final decision on its Carmichael project in Australia. Even if Adani does approve the $4 billion thermal coal and rail project in central Queensland state, the venture is shaping up as a turning point for coal in Australia, with consequences for the industry across Asia.
Coal Exporters Watch as China, India Mull Policy Change
Coal exporters may be feeling more comfortable about their future as they see both reasonable demand from Asia's top importers and prices which appear to be stabilising at levels that allow for decent profits. This renewed optimism was evident at this week's Coaltrans Asia conference on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, where much of the discussion…
