EIA PREDICTS COAL TO PRODUCE 57.8 PERCENT OF AMERICA’S ELECTRICITY BY 2030

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that coal’s share of the electricity generation market will increase to 55 percent by 2030, in its Annual Energy Outlook 2008.  The outlook also revised upwards by 40 percent its previous projection regarding the amount of coal needed by 2030 to meet demand for domestic coal-to-liquids (CTL) fuels.

The 55 percent figure includes power production, combined heat and power, as well as end use generation.  For power production, EIA estimates coal will produce 57.8 percent of America’s electricity in 2030, compared with the 60.8 percent figure predicted in the 2007 outlook.  The revision is largely a result of EIA’s projected slowdown in economic growth and electricity demand. 

EIA’s latest outlook projects annual coal production to reach 1,595 billion tons in 2030 compared with 1.691 billion tons the agency predicted last year.  The agency’s projections are predicated on a doubling of electricity generated from renewable sources of energy as a result of new state-level renewable portfolio standards and an assumed 18.5 percent increase in nuclear generating capacity. 

The forecast predicts that 157 million tons of coal will be needed for domestic CTL production by 2030,marking a 40 percent increase over the agency’s previous projection of 112 million tons.

U.S. coal production dipped slightly in 2007, according to EIA.  The 1.4 percent decline hit Appalachian states including Virginia and Kentucky the largest, while production in the West went flat.  Across Appalachia, production dipped 3.6 percent to 364.6 million tons.  West Virginia showed a slight increase of 0.9 percent to 148.2 million tons.  Wyoming production is up 1.6 percent to 433.1 million tons.

More information is available at EIA2008 Outlook.

TWENTY-SEVEN WV MINING OPERATIONS RECOGNIZED FOR SAFETY

Twenty-seven West Virginia mining operations were recognized for stellar safety achievements in 2007 during the West Virginia Coal Association’s 35^th annual mining symposium in January in Charleston, WV.

“I can’t tell you how proud we are of these organizations’ achievements in calendar year 2007, Coal Association President Bill Raney said.  “They are truly setting the mark for our nation’s coal mining industry.”

Consol’s Robinson Run Mine in Harrison County was honored with the “2007 Barton B. Lay, Jr. Milestones of Safety Award”, which is bestowed upon the industry’s safest operation each year.  The Mountaineer Guardian Safety Awards are presented each year to mining companies that have demonstrated a commitment to operational safety. 

Mountaineer Guardian Safety Award Winners: Underground Operations—Monongalia County, Eastern Associated Coal Corp. Federal #2 Mine; Marshall County, McElroy Coal Company McElroy Mine; Tucker County, Mettiki Coal, LLC, Mettiki E. Mine; Wyoming County, Blue Haven Energy, Inc. No. 5 mine; Boone County, Elk Run Coal Company, Black King 1-N Portal; Mingo County, Laurel Creek Coal Face #5; Braxton County, Brooks Run Mining, No. 5 Mine; Kanawha County, Remington LLC, Campbells Creek #7 Mine;  and Greenbrier County, White Buck Coal Co. White Buck #2.

Surface Operations – Mingo County, Premium Energy LLC, Surface Mine #3; Wyoming County, Simmons Fork Mining, Inc., Paynter Branch; Logan County, Phoenix Coal Mac Mining Inc., Holden 22 Surface, and Band Mill Coal Corp. Tower Mountain Surface; Clay County, Fola Coal Company, LLC, Surface Mine #1; and Webster County, ICG Eastern LLC, Birch River Mine.

Preparation Plants – Wyoming County, Kepler Processing Co. LLC, Kepler No. 1 plant;  Boone/Kanawha, Emerald Processing LLC, South Hollow Plant; Mingo, Hampden Coal Co., No. 1 Prep Plant; Logan, Mingo Logan Coal Co. Çardinal Prep plant; Boone, Pine Ridge Coal Co., LLC, Big Mt. Prep Plant; Fayette, Appalachian Fuels, LLC, Alloy Prep Plant; Webster, Brooks Run Mining Co., Brooks Run #1 Plant; Kanawha, Catenary Coal Co. Tom’s Fork Loadout; and Webster, ICG Eastern LLC Birch River Plant .

Independent Contractor –All counties, Cecil  I. Walker Machinery Company.  Quarry – Randolph County, J.F. Allen Company, Aggregates.

WV MINING COMPANIES RECOGNIZED FOR RECLAMATION WORK

 Eighteen West Virginia mining operations were recognized for outstanding reclamation work in 2007 at the West Virginia Coal Association’s 35^th Annual Mining Symposium in January.

“Our companies strive to be good stewards of the land,” WVCA President Bill Raney said.  “The reclamation award winners are fantastic examples of that stewardship and they are all to be commended.”

ICG Eastern Incorporated’s Birch River Mine Complex in Webster County was honored with the 2007 Greenlands Award, which recognizes the state’s top performer in the area of environmental protection and performance. Birch River did outstanding reclamation work at a large surface mine and its associated coal preparation and coal handling facilities,

Reclamation Award Winners:

Surface Mine South – Rum Creek Coal Sales, Anna Branch Surface Mine, Logan County; and Coal-Mac, Inc., Phoenix No. 1 Surface Mine, Mingo & Logan counties. Coal Refuse facility south award – Kepler Processing Co., Big Branch Coarse Refuse Facility, Wyoming County; and refuse north award – Patriot Mining Co., Albright Refuse facility, Preston County.  Haul Road South Award – Aracoma Coal Co., Ethel Hollow haul road, Logan County;  and haul road north award to Wolf Run Mining Co., Inc., Imperial Mine, Upshur County. Underground Coal Mine South award – Colony Bay Coal Co., Stockton mine, Boone County; and north award to Burn Coal, Inc., Upshur County.

Special Recognition Award – Lexington Coal Company-LCC West Virginia, Notomine Operation, Kanawha & Raleigh Counties.  Mitigation Awards – Fola Coal Company, Inc., Surface Mine No. 4 and Laurel Fork Surface Mine, Clay County; and Coal River Energy, LLC, Coal River Complex, Little Coal River.  Woodlands Awards 2007 – Fola Coal Company and 2006, Elk Run Coal Co., Black Castle Mining Co.  Quarry Awards – Letart Corp., Mason County; and Boxley Aggregates of West Virginia, Mill Point Quarry, Pocahontas County. AML Awards – north award to Eastern Arrow, Inc., Weaver Portals and Mine Drainage project, Randolph County; and south award to Green Mountain Co., Carswell Eroding Refuse project, McDowell County,.

Massey Energy Company subsidiaries received three Mountaineer Guardian Awards from the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training and the West Virginia Coal Association, Charleston, WV, exemplifying mine safety throughout West Virginia.  Awards were presented to Black King 1 North Portal Mine at Elk Run Coal Company in Boone County, Bandmill Coal Company’s Tower Mountain Surface Mine in Logan County and the White Buck #2 Coal Company in Nicholas County.  The three mines were nominated by state mine inspectors and the West Virginia Coal Association for their outstanding safety performances during 2007. Massey Energy’s safety record is consistently better than the mining industry’s national average and many of Massey’s safety standards exceed state and federal requirements.

The Skewes Family Foundation, Bluefield, WV, has pledged $500,000 to the Four Seasons YMCA, the largest gift received to date in the fund-raising campaign.  As a result, the pool will be named in honor of the late Bill Skewes, founder of the Concept Mining Company, and long-time area coal operator.  Foundation President Rusty Skewes added that “we are proud to make this gift which will go a long way toward completing the pool.  My dad loved to swim and water ski and would be honored to have the pool named in his memory.  We are excited about the recent affiliation of the Four Seasons Wellness Center with the YMCA and know that its mission fits with our ideals and values.”  The Skewes family operates the Ridge Land Company and Concept Mining with coal mines in Caretta and Gary, WV.  The foundation was established in 2005 and provides charitable financial support to community development projects in the coal fields.  Grant requests may be mailed to the Skewes Family Foundation, PO Box 1335, Bluefield, WV 24701.

Joy Mining Machinery, Warrendale, PA, announces recipients of the 2007-08 JOY Scholarship Award, a continuing effort to attract and retain outstanding students to the mining and mining-related industries.  Students receiving the awards are enrolled in schools of mining engineering.  Recipients are: (photos in order) Dewayne Dotson, Bluefield State College; Kristyn Kiley, Colorado School of Mines; Vance Rumbaugh, Penn State; Eric Blackford and Brad Damron, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Jared Connolly, University of Arizona; Adam Ramsey, University of Kentucky; Jonathan McWade, University of Missouri-Rolla; James Newman, University of Utah; Andrew Storey, Virginia Tech; and Adam Patterson, West Virginia University.

Since 1990, the rate of injuries sustained per 200,000 hours worked in the mining industry has been reduced by 56 percent, with injuries having decreased each year since 2000.  Through continued implementation of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act, implementation of the recommendations of the independent Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission another safety improvement step, the industry is committed to further reducing injuries and providing the safest possible workplace environment.

The U.S. Air Force has started a new round of tests on alternative synthetic fuels made using the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process, the same techniques used to produce clean, domestic coal-to-liquids fuels.  Following other tests, the Air Force plans to fly the first transcontinental flight of a C-17 aircraft powered by FT fuels.  The Air Force plans to certify its entire fleet to use FT fuels by 2011.  Ultimately, the Air Force hopes to purchase 400 million gallons of CTL jet fuel beginning in 2016.  Visit www.futurecoalfuels.org

Balfour Beatty has appointed Sandvik Mining and Construction to supply the tunneling jumbos for the A3 Hindhead Tunnel Project currently being constructed for the Highways Agency.  The supply contract is for three Sandvik DT820-AC twin booms with basket boom drills to be used on the 1.83km tunnel, which forms part of the new 6.7km dual carriageway trunk road.  Two of the jumbos will be used for installing self-drilling GRP piles and probe holes, with the third unit used for drilling steel canopy support tubes.

Visual Sciences Inc. announces that Kennametal Inc., a leading global supplier of tooling, engineered components and advanced materials consumed in production processes, has deployed the company’s HBX ™ Analytics to provide the data analysis and metrics to help guide its new e-commerce strategy.  Kennametal’s customers range from small machine shops to the largest commercial jet manufacturer in the world.  Kennametal required a scalable and robust Web analytic solution with a comprehensive set of reports that will grow with the company’s e-commerce and search engine optimization initiatives.  The insights gained by using HBX Analytics have enabled Kennametal to refine and ramp-up its e-commerce strategy with better site navigation, more user-friendly content and a newly designed product catalog.

Massey Energy, Richmond, VA, has acquired a 50 percent ownership of 35 million tons of the Sewickley and Pittsburgh seam reserved in Marshall County, West Virginia, as well as lease rights, for $2.8 million. The acquisition includes gas and oil rights with approximately 15,000 acres of land as well as a commitment to a long-term lease for the operator.  Massey’s northern Appalachia reserve holdings now total some 100 million tons.

ConocoPhillips Company, Houston, TX, announces that ConocoPhillips Lubricants Academy has updated a wide range of both Web and classroom-style courses.  Comprehensive computer modules and in-depth offsite product training courses are designed to give Marketers a convenient way to continue their Lubricants training. Three different formats are available:  Computer Based Training Modules—eleven different modules are offered; Industrial Lubrication Training Series—includes basic products course, advanced products course, industrial products course and technical products course; Heavy Duty Diesel Course—three day course is an engine teardown and training in oil analyses.  For more information visit http://www.conocophillips.com

U.S. Energy Corp., Riverton, WY, (USEG) has acquired Crested Corp.  Crested has been merged into USEG pursuant to Colorado and Wyoming law.  As a result, Crested has ceased to exist and all outstanding shares of Crested have been converted into the right to receive USEG shares.

Holmes Bros. Technologies, LLC, St. Albans, WV and Danville, IL, a partnership of Preiser Scientific, Inc. and Towne Machine Tool Co., has acquired the Holmes Bros. Inc. Sampling Products Division consisting of laboratory coal crushers, pulverizers, riffles and related products for use in coal mining.

The Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC), Shreveport, LA, has granted American Electric Power’s Southwestern Electric Power Company a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need to construct a 600-megawatt coal-fueled power plant in Hempstead County in southwest Arkansas.  The John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant will use “ultra-supercritical” advanced coal combustion technology and will be one of the first plants of its type to go into operation in the U.S.  The plant will use low-sulfur coal and will include state-of-the-art emission control technologies, including a design that allows for the retrofit of carbon dioxide controls.

Employees at four AMFIRE Mining Co. operations, who worked more than 95,000 hours without a lost workday injury in 2006, were awarded Certificates of Achievement in Safety by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration at its annual Sentinels of Safety awards program.  AMFIRE is a subsidiary of Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.  Awards were made to the Armstrong County surface mine, Davis Pit, near Adrian, PA; the Cambria Pit surface Mine, South Fork II pit, near South Fork, PA; the Somerset County surface mine, Grove Pit, near Acosta, PA and the Triple K #1 mine, an underground mine near Ford City, PA.

Magnum Coal’s Winchester operation in Kanawha County, WV, is expected to produce 670,000 tons per year once in operation after January 2, 2008. Remington, a Magnum affiliate, will control the Eskdale mine.  The mine has a life expectancy of more than 10 years and will consist of two super sections operating three shifts, two for production and one for maintenance. Magnum Coal produces some 17 million tons of coal per year from 14 West Virginia underground and surface mines.

Evergreen Energy Inc., Casper, WY, is testing K-Fuel technology at a plant near Gillette.  The technology is used on low-grade coal such as lignite and sub-bituminous that has a higher moisture content and lower heat value than other coal deposits found in the eastern U.S.  K-Fuel process reduces the moisture content from roughly 30 percent to 7.5 percent and boosts the heat value from 8,000 Btu per pound to as much as 11,000 Btu.  The company adds that it also cuts mercury, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and other pollutants.

The West Virginia Coal Mining Institute has endowed the COMER Museum (Mining and Petroleum) housed in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University with a pledge of $250,000.  The museum has been named “The Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum” in recognition of these two individuals who have supported the mission through financial support and other resources.  The mission of the museum is to: “Preserve and promote the social, cultural, and technological history of the coal, oil and gas industries of the State of West Virginia through the collection, preservation, research and exhibition of tangible objects relevant to these industries.”  Contributions should be forwarded to Royce J. Watts at PO Box 6070, Morgantown, WV 26506-6070, payable to the West Virginia University Foundation, Inc. and marked for the Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum.

Industrial Scientific Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA, has launched a new Web site at www.indsci.com  Features the vision and solutions to monitoring, maintaining and managing gas detection equipment for small or large customers around the world.  The site is a one-stop shop for all topics related to gas detection.

Western Canadian Coal of Vancouver, Canada, has signed a conditional agreement with Cambrian Mining to acquire Falls Mountain Coal in Canada.  WCC has managed Cambrian’s Willow Creek mine.  FMC controls the coal wash plant and rail load-out facilities as well as other coal properties in the Canadian province of British Columbia.  Willow Creek is adjacent to WCC’s Brazion Group, which means that the companies can share the wash plant.  The takeover will expand its reserve holdings with the two properties holding saleable reserves of 35 million tons to produce 2.2 Mt per year.

Becker Mining Systems, a German longwall equipment manufacturer, has acquired SMC Electrical Products of Huntington, WV, and will oversee operations at the firm.  SMC is one of the nation’s top producers of electrical equipment, medium voltage drives and mining components.

John Deere Reman-Edmonton is the new name of the Phoenix Reman Group.  The Edmonton group produces components for the John Deere Construction & Forestry, John Deere Agriculture, Hitachi Construction, and Hitachi Mining customers in North America, Europe, South America and South Africa.

Foundation Coal expects to soon ship its billionth ton of coal from the Powder River Basin region.  This represents the total amount of mined coal from Foundation West’s Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr operations in Wyoming, which began extracting in 1972.  The billionth ton is slated for delivery to the Westar Energy Jeffrey Energy Center in Kansas.

National Coal Corp., Knoxville, TN, has signed three new coal sales contracts, bringing its total sold to 2,500,000 tons or 96 percent of its estimated 2008 production.  Approximately 1.1 million tons will come from National Coal of Alabama and approximately 1.4 million tons from NCC’s properties in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Concentrated Solar Power, Cambridge, MA, plans to invest up to $20 billion in solar CSP over the next five years, according to Emerging Energy Research (EER).  Spain and the U.S. are the two epicenters for the global CSP industry.  CSP installations in these two countries are expected to surpass a combined 7,500 MW by 2020, EER says.  Italy, France, Portugal, and Greece are on the cusp of breaking through with CSP developments, as well as parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

Mattoon, a small town in the coalfields of Illinois, has been selected as the site for the $1.8 billion FutureGen plant, a no-emissions coal-fired generating plant.

Avtron Industrial Automation Inc., Independence, OH, announces the start-up and commissioning of the fifth Avtron digital drive upgrade at Falkirk Mining in North Dakota.  Avtron provided new Avtron DMGs (motor and generator field supplies), PLC control, and new operator screens.  Drop-in controls were designed to fit in the existing cabinetry and were installed on time and on budget.  Visit www.avtron.com

American Electric Power, Columbus, OH, and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. have established Electric Transmission Texas, LLC, a joint venture to build transmission projects within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.  The joint venture was also approved to operate as a transmission-only utility in ERCOT by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.  AEP has identified approximately $1 billion of additional transmission projects within its ERCOT footprint eligible for potential assignment to ETT.

Peabody Energy, St. Louis, MO, has closed an agreement with American Municipal Power-Ohio (AMP-Ohio) to purchase 368 megawatts of the Prairie State Energy Campus being developed in Southern Illinois.  The agreement includes the purchase of an additional 68 megawatts, bringing AMP-Ohio’s ownership of 23 percent of Prairie State’s output.

Peabody Energy has joined “GreenGen”, the first near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage which is under development in China.  The $1 billion GreenGen project will use advanced coal-based technologies to generate electricity for Chinese families and businesses using China’s most abundant energy resource.  It will be capable of hydrogen production and will advance carbon dioxide capture and storage, providing a clean energy prototype to address carbon dioxide concerns.  Led by managing partner China Huaneng Group, the GreenGen Company will design, develop and operate an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant near Tianjin, southeast of Beijing.  A 250-megawatt plant will be built in the initial phase, expanding to 650 megawatts in later phases.  Project design and review is complete, a site has been selected at the Lingang Industrial Park and construction is expected to commence in early 2008, with the first phase of the plant expected on line by 2009.

Hawk Measurement, Middleton, MA, provider of level, positioning and flow measurement technology, has launched a new website at www.hawkmeasure.com  providing users in the water, mining, sewage, material handling, process automation and chemical markets with an in-depth view of the company and its products.  Designed to facilitate easy navigation and present viewers with the most sought-after information in an organized, efficient manner.  Features upcoming events, data sheets, manuals and brochures, etc.

Coal mining fatalities in Kentucky hit a record low in 2007 with only two deaths reported.  For the first time ever there were no fatalities underground.

The Larson Davis division of PCB Piezotronics, Depew, NY, announces an exclusive worldwide distribution agreement for the products and services of Bertrand-Johnson Acoustics (BJA) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  Products include CORETI and HPD Select Software for audiometric trend analysis and hearing conversation program (HCP) qualifications, which provide Safety and Health Managers with predictive analysis tools and regulatory recordkeeping for management of company-wide HCP’s and proper selection of appropriate Hearing Protection Devices to meet various regulatory standards.

Peabody Energy, St. Louis, MO, has commenced the Millennium/BHP Mitsui Coal Pty Ltd joint venture that provides Peabody with approximately 35 million tons of additional high quality metallurgical coal reserves and provides BHP Mitsui with a 50 percent ownership position in the Millennium preparation facility and associated infrastructure assets.  The reserves contribute to Peabody’s industry-leading position of more than 9 billion tons.  The Millennium Mine is on track to produce 3 million tons by 2010. The preparation facility is a three-stage coal handling and preparation plant capable of annually processing 6 million tons of coal split equally between Peabody and BHP Mitsui.  It is among three new Greenfield mines Peabody has completed in Queensland and New South Wales this past year.

JOY Global has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Continental Global, a conveyor system manufacturer, for $270 million, from parent company NES Group.  The conveyor systems fit with Joy Global surface business P&H MinePro and underground business Joy Mining Machinery.  Continental designs, manufactures, installs and services conveyor solutions on six continents with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., UK, South Africa and Australia.  The acquisition is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2008.

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC, Bloomington, IL, is investing $12 million over the next five years in its Off Road Tire plant that will allow the plant to produce new off road tire sizes and double the facility’s giant loader tire curing capacity.  The project will result in the addition of 50 new jobs.

American Electric Power’s Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) has begun commercial operation of Units 1 and 2 of the new Harry D. Mattison Power Plant at Tontitown, ARK.  Two simple-cycle, natural gas-fueled combustion turbines were declared in commercial operation last December. The units have an initial combined capacity of 150 megawatts.  After testing is completed in the spring of 2008, the capacity will increase by 20 MW to a combined capacity of 170 MW.

A new comprehensive energy measure signed into law by the President will increase the minimum fuel-efficiency for passenger vehicles for the first time in 32 years from an average of 25-miles per gallon now to 35-miles per gallon in 2020.  That could help trim this country’s use of foreign oil supplies by 1.1 million per barrels a day that equates to more than half of the oil exported by Kuwait and Venezuela.  The law also required lots more ethanol to be used as a motor fuel.  Corn-based ethanol will rise from 6 billion gallons a year today to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022.  The measure requires more energy-efficient lighting and appliances, including refrigerators and dishwashers, and more energy-efficient federal and commercial buildings.

Industrial Scientific Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA, has acquired Design Build Own Operate Inc. (DBO2) of San Carlos, CA.  DBO2’s leading product, SafetyNet, is a safety inspection and analysis program that helps construction, mining, energy, insurance and other companies at high risk for catastrophic injury of loss to predict and prevent worker injuries while improving quality and productivity.

LINE-X Industrial Coatings Division, Santa Ana, CA, has a new website to expand the LINE-X industrial coatings operations and to provide ongoing support to its current and future applicator network. The LICD website at www.LINE-XICD.com  provides visitors improved accessibility, appearance and navigation.

International Royalty Corporation has acquired a royalty on the Horizon metallurgical coal project, a development in the Tumbler Ridge area owned by the Peace River Coal Limited Partnership. The 13,600 acres comprising the Horizon area reportedly has 190 million tons of reserve with potential for further expansion onto adjacent tracts. Production is expected to start in 2010 with growth to 1.5m tons per year within the following two to three years.

Trimble, Sunnyvale, CA, has acquired Crain Enterprises, Inc. of Mound City, IL.  Crain manufactures accessories for the geomatics, surveying, mapping, and construction industries.  Product lines include tripods, bipods, leveling rods, measuring rulers, prisms, prism and GPS poles, stream gauges, wire installation tools, as well as bags, packs, and sewn carrying cases for surveying and positioning instruments.

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