By H. Sterling Burnett
Washington Examiner
One of the main reasons President Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement is the treaty is a “bad deal for America.” Among many other problems, it would cost a significant number of jobs. In support of his claim, Mr. Trump cited a study by NERA Economic Consulting that estimates if the United States were to meet its carbon-dioxide emissions reduction obligations under the Paris climate agreement, it would cost the economy nearly $3 trillion and the United States would lose 6.5 million industrial jobs by 2040, including 3.1 million in the manufacturing sector.
By Charles McConnell
Forbes
Some disasters arise unexpectedly, like an earthquake or massive storm. Others seem inevitable. Who didn’t see the 2008 financial crisis coming?
In hindsight, most of us.
In reality, most crises that seem inevitable after the fact often catch nearly all of us by surprise when they occur. The factors were obvious enough, but few people saw them coming together.
There’s a potential crisis that will seem predictable, after the fact. It’s better to take thoughtful consideration and positive action now and not say “I told you so” later.
By Stephen Moore
American Spectator
Quick: what was the number one source of electricity production in the U.S. during the first half of 2017? If you answered renewable energy, you are wrong by a mile. If you answered natural gas, you were wrong by a tiny amount.
According to the Energy Information Administration, which tracks energy use in production on a monthly basis, the single largest source of electric power for the first half of 2017 was… coal. See chart.
By Timothy Gardner and Nina Chestney
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – 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, a deal agreed by nearly 200 countries to cut carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels like coal.
By Dan Byers
US Chamber of Commerce
The War on Coal is well and truly over, but a peculiar debate over its impact lingers on. Revisionist history is central to this debate, with some folks now suggesting that the coal industry was never in a two-front struggle against both a regulatory onslaught and cheap natural gas. Instead, they argue, it was a one-front war against natural gas all along. President Obama may have marshalled his regulatory agencies for battle, but who knew they were firing blanks?
Heather Richards
Star Tribune
WASHINGTON – Wyoming’s coal industry has rebounded from the dire circumstances of a year ago, when its three largest companies were in bankruptcy and stockpiles of coal still sat idle at power plants and mine sites across the country.
Those companies have since restructured, wiping away billions in debt in the process. And the overstock of coal has largely burned down.
Wyoming companies, energy experts and environmentalists agree that a new normal has set in for coal in Wyoming, where companies are operating at lower costs and producing less coal with fewer miners. It is a time for tightening belts and operating efficiently, not expanding.
KING GEORGE, VA. (COAL AGE) —GE Power (NYSE: GE) today announced plans to convert its 242 MW coal-fired Birchwood Power facility in King George, Virginia, US into a Steam Plant Services Innovation Center.
The center, which provides sufficient electricity to power more than 240,000 homes, is to become a showcase for how the latest GE technologies can greatly increase the efficiency and flexibility of coal-fired steam power plants, while also reducing emissions.
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming business leaders are recommending investing a $1.5 million grant in a proposed coal research facility.
The Wyoming Business Council made the recommendation for the grant for a research facility on alternative uses for coal in northeast Wyoming on Thursday.
The area has a coal sector that was hit hard in the industry’s recent downturn. Local and state leaders want to find new ways bring relevancy back to Powder River Basin coal.
The State Loan and Investment Board may approve the grant money at its June 15 meeting. The grant would pay for the cost of the land and construction of a 4,000 square-foot (371.6 square-meter) research lab in Fort Union Industrial Park in Gillette.
By Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY)
Wyoming is America’s largest coal producing state, mining close to 40 percent of the coal consumed by our nation every year. Common estimates give Wyoming close to 145 billion tons of recoverable coal and 1.4 trillion tons in total coal reserves. This coal is a national treasure.
A coal sector that has spent much of the past eight years criticizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration welcomed an official with the Trump administration at an industry event May 4.
EPA Senior Policy Adviser Mandy Gunasekara said she came to the Eastern Fuel Buyers conference, hosted at the Disney Yacht Club in Orlando, Fla., to answer “eight years of questions” and gather information to take back to Washington, D.C.
Daily News by Coal Age