President Bush has called for a new program that would accelerate the commercial availability of advanced technology capable of effectively reducing GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) by 2025.  To reach the 2025 goal, President Bush called for “an economic-wide strategy,” emphasizing that all “responsible approaches depend on accelerating the development and deployment of new technologies.”  The president asked for a consolidated incentive that is carbon-weighted and makes lower emission power sources less expensive relative to higher emissions sources, and that accounts for our America’s energy security needs.  He added that the incentives should be long-lasting and provide a positive and reliable market signal not only for the investment in a technology, but also for the investments in domestic manufacturing capacity and infrastructure that will help lower costs and scale up availability.  Visit WhiteHouseFact Sheet.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory reports that 114 new coal-fired power plants have been proposed, but only 47 are under construction or in the process of getting local authority permits.  Environmentalists have targeted coal as a major air polluter, and some states have refused permits for new plants or delayed or canceled other proposals.  Arch Coal estimates that 16.5 gigawatts of new coal-fueled capacity are now under construction in the U.S., and will be phased in during the next four years.  This build-out will require nearly 59 million tons of new annual coal supply, with 75 percent of that needed before the end of 2010.

West Virginia continues to be the leading coal exporting state in the nation, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).  In 2006, West Virginia exported more than 16,000 tons of coal, accounting for nearly 35 percent of total U.S. coal exports.  It marked the second consecutive year that West Virginia coal shipments to foreign markets have increased.  Visit EIA Coal Distribution Data.

Peabody Energy, St. Louis, MO, has increased its equity ownership in the DTA coal terminal at Newport News, VA, to 37.5 percent.  DTA has an annual capacity of up to 20 million tons of coal, and expects throughput to approximately double in 2008.  The acquisition increases Peabody’s total share of DTA coal terminal throughput capability to approximately 6 to 7 million tons annually.  Peabody shares ownership in the facility with Alpha Terminal Company and Arch Coal, Inc., through its subsidiaries.

MSA’s new “Need it NOW!” delivery program gives customers the fall protection products they need, when they need them.  Two tiers of priority shipping offer delivery the same day or next-day (Tier 1), or within five days (Tier 2).  Over 400 product choices are available with this program.  Call 877/MSA-INST.

Nearly 100 West Virginia students from Madison Middle School teamed up with Massey Energy Company to celebrate Arbor Day by planting American chestnut seedlings on reclaimed land at the Black Castle mine in Boone County. The event coincided with an Excellence in Reforestation Award for Black Castle from the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative for the mine’s reclamation efforts.  Known as the “Redwood of the East”, the American chestnut once flourished in Appalachia until a fungus nearly wiped out the species in the early 1900s.  The new fungus-resistant cultivated American chestnut tree grows best in soil conditions found on reclaimed land. Massey members will be replanting and fencing to protect the seedlings.

Veyance Technologies, Inc., has begun construction of an $18 million expansion at its conveyor belt plant in Marysville, OH.  When completed in September the 24,000 square-foot addition will add new technology for the production of heavy-duty conveyor belts.  Veyance is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of Goodyear Engineered Products and operates 35 facilities worldwide with about 9,000 associates.

Shandong Lihuayi Duowei Chemical Co., Ltd of Dongying City, Shandong Province of China has signed a gasification technology license agreement with GE Energy.  The Lihuayi project plans to use GE’s proprietary coal gasification technology to convert local coal into more than 890,000 normal cubic meters per day of syngas, which then would be used for chemical production at the site.  In addition, GE’s contract with Shandong includes preparation of a process design package, technical service and the supply of a quench ring and feed injector.  The plant is scheduled to begin commercial operation in late 2010. 

Bucyrus International Inc., W. Milwaukee, WI, has signed a contract to deliver a Gleithobel GH 800 automated plow system to Poland’s Zofiowka mine that will be shipped at the end of 2008.  The GH800 has a cutting power of 2X400 kW, and will operate on a face length of 255 meters with roof supports controlled by the Bucyrus PMC-R shield control system.  The face will also be equipped with the PF 4 plow line pan.  The GH 800 has a maximum plow speed of 3m/s and a maximum cutting depth of 180 mm.

More than 40 leading U.S. companies from the electricity generation, transportation, coal production, energy technology, and equipment manufacturing industries have aligned to create the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).  The group will support public policies that advance environmental improvement, economic prosperity, and energy security.  ACCCE also supports public and private sector efforts to develop and deploy new, advanced clean coal technologies that protect and improve the environment.  The formation of ACCCE is the consolidation of the Center for Energy and Economic Development and Americans for Balanced Energy Choices.  Contact Brad Jones of ACCCE at 703/585-3633 or e-mail at bjones@cleancoalusa.org

Peabody Energy’s Caballo Mine has shipped its 500 millionth ton of coal, making the journey by rail to Cook Coal Terminal in Illinois, and from there by barge to AEP’s Rockport Generation Station in Rockport, IN.  Rockport Station receives approximately 2.5 million tons of Caballo’s coal annually.  Peabody’s Powder River Coal, LLC subsidiary, operates the mine. Caballo Mine, located in Campbell County, WY opened in 1978 and began shipping coal to AEP in 1979. Caballo’s 460 employees last year shipped 31 million tons of coal.

Coalcorp Mining Inc., Toronto, Canada, has completed negotiations with Masering S.A. to partner with the existing mine contractor to support the expansion of production at La

Francia Pits A and B.  Masering has increased the equipment fleet at the mine site with the addition of 20 Caterpillar 777F haul trucks, five excavators, two Caterpillar 16M graders and two drill machines. Coalcorp has also received approvals and has begun construction of a rail spur to connect its La Francia mine with the Fenoco Line. Construction is expected to be finished by September and will have Coalcorp up to 3.5 million tons capacity of annual rail access to ship its coal to the northern ocean ports near Santa Marta.

Patriot Coal has leased up to 25 million tons of undeveloped coal reserves with a Charleston, WV, investor in the vicinity of Slaughters Creek and Paint Creek, near the Kanawha River.   The JV is planning to purchase the Slaughters Creek preparation plant and associated infrastructure.  It has a throughput contract for the Chelyan Dock to transload coal from truck to barge.

Draeger Safety Inc, Pittsburgh, PA, has won the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Consumer Award for respiratory protection.  The award goes to honor the manufacturer which best fulfills the customers needs in respiratory protection concerning the aspects of safety, ease of use, technical features, comfort, and design.  Draeger offers a complete portfolio of respiratory protection products as well as a complete range of filtering and supplied air escape equipment.

Bridgestone Firestone Off Road Tire Company (BFOR), Nashville, TN, has received the 2007 “Supplier Quality Excellence” award from Caterpillar Inc.  The award recognizes suppliers who provide the highest quality to Caterpillar.  Suppliers are selected by a global team made up of experts from purchasing, engineering, manufacturing and logistics who base their decisions on performance in key areas such as quality, service, delivery performance, and 6 Sigma Deployment.

Fairchild International has opened new facilities in DuQuion, IL, about two hours from St. Louis, MO.  The 18,500 square foot building Fairchild chose for its new warehouse is being renovated.  Ralph Shockley, Jr., who previously was maintenance supervisor at Freeman Energy, will head the new facility. Shockley has held various mine maintenance positions with Freeman, Arch of Illinois and Carter Coal, and has federal electrical and Illinois state mining certifications.  This marks the fifth warehouse in the company’s growth plan.  Other support facilities will follow in the coalfields of Alabama and eventually at a western U.S. branch.

Biothermica, a Canadian air pollution control firm, has approval from MSHA for a model coal mine methane mitigation emissions project at Jim Walter Resources’ No. 7 operation in Brookwood, AL.  Biothermica will use a VAMOX regenerative thermal oxidation system to destroy ventilation air methane before the GHG is released to the atmosphere.  The demonstration project will achieve GHG emission reductions of some 40,000 tons of CO2 equivalent annually.  VAMOX requires no modification to existing mine equipment and remains independent from ventilation systems.

Cyrios Inc., Glendale, CA, and its affiliated company EuroPacific International, has a contract with G&T LLC, for the sale of 500,000 MT of coal per month with exclusive contracts to India and South Korea.  G&T LLC is part owner and exclusive distributor of coal originating from the Taybinski mine and other coal mines in the Kuzbass in Western Siberia’s Kemerovo, Russia’s leading coal-producing region.  Almost 175 million tons of coal was produced in Kuzbass in 2006, with expectations of growing 50 percent of this production by 2025.  The multi-decade agreement appoints Cyrios as the seller mandate to sell coal at very competitive rates to utility and steel manufacturing companies in the region. 

Fuel Tech, Inc., Batavia, IL, announces receipt of multiple air pollution control (APC) orders totaling $5 million.  Principal order placed by an electric utility customer in the Mid-Atlantic region, covers the supply and installation of NOxOUT Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) systems on three units at a single power generation site.  The systems will be designed to enable the client to satisfy its nitrogen oxide reduction compliance plan as required under federal and state multi-pollutant regulations, with equipment deliveries scheduled for late 2008.  Fuel Tech has also received an order for a small NOxOUT CASCADE system for an electric utility operating in Guadeloupe, a French territory in the Caribbean Sea.

Alliance Resources Partners’ planned River View coal mine, near Uniontown, KY, could be twice as large as originally envisioned and may employ as many as 600 workers by the end of 2010, according to company officials. Alliance acquired approximately 117.1 million tons of high-sulfur coal in the No. 7, No. 9 and No. 11 coal seams along with surface properties and other assets in western Union County two years ago.  The company will spend some $275 million to develop the underground mining complex operating up to eight continuous mining units and producing up to 6.4 million tons of coal a year.

Sandvik Mining and Construction LLC, Atlanta, GA, has signed an agreement to acquire Aubema Beteiligungs, a German crushing and rock sizing technology specialist.  The company, through its subsidiaries Aubema Crushing Technology and Beijing Aubema Technology, focuses on the design and production of custom-tailored equipment including hammer mills, impact mills, roll crushers, cone crushers and vibrating mills.  The acquisition is subject to approval by the German competition authority.

Bortech Corporation, Keene, NH, has established an online venue at http://bortechstore.com for products pertaining to automated bore welding.  New and factory refurbished bore welding equipment, along with consumable and replacement parts, can be ordered anytime. Orders will ship on the same or the next business day, to anywhere in the world.

Active Control Technology Inc., Toronto, Canada, has installed its first commercial deployment of ActiveMine^TM, the company’s two-way wireless Wi-Fi communications and tracking system at an underground coal mine in West Virginia.  Subsequent upgrade to the system will include the ActiveMine real-time electronic tracking feature and an above ground wireless communication network.

Peabody Energy has recently presented $356,000 in scholarship funds to the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe as part of a 20-year commitment to creating educational opportunities for tribal students.  Peabody has provided nearly $7 million in scholarships for Navajo and Hopi children pursuing college and careers.  Peabody’s Kayenta Mine is operated through lease agreements with the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe, producing more than 8 million tons of low sulfur coal annually for shipment to the Navajo Generation station near Page, AZ.  Mining on Arizona’s Black Mesa has injected more than $2.8 billion in direct economic benefits into tribal communities through coal royalties, business payments, taxes, wages, benefits and charitable contributions since the operations began nearly 40 years ago.

Fatal accidents at assisted operations have declined significantly in the five years since the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) established the Small Mines Office.  Mines receiving assistance from SMO showed a 66 percent decline in fatality incidence rate per 200,000 hours worked, during the period from 2003 to 2007.  SMO has assisted more than 6,500 U.S. operations with customized safety and health programs, helping bring down the rate from 0.053 to 0.018 between 2000 and 2002.  Mines with five or fewer employees make up about 50 percent of mining operations in the U.S.

GE Energy, Baltimore, MD, has applied its latest steam turbine technology at North Dakota’s largest power plant, Great River Energy’s Coal Creek Station, about 50 miles north of Bismarck.  It marks the first installation of GE’s new 26.8-inch last stage bucket (LSB) with axial entry dovetail.  The technology has been developed to help power plants remain competitive by increasing the output and reliability of the low-pressure sections of steam turbines.  Coal Creek Station has a total generation capacity of more than 1,100 megawatts.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a denial of an application by The Ohio Valley Coal Company to replace a coal preparation refuse impoundment that is nearing its fill capacity.  The new impoundment is vital to the continued operation of both Ohio Valley Coal’s Powhatan Mine No. 6 and American Energy Corporation’s Century Mine. The two largest underground coal mines in Ohio, producing 50 percent of the coal in the state, will be forced to permanently close if the Ohio EPA decision stands.  This means that 1,000 miners and up to 11,000 jobs depending on the mining positions, $100 million per year in beneficial impacts to the state, and 50 percent of the coal holding down electric rates from Ohio will be lost.

Massey Energy has committed more than $1 million to the company’s volunteer spousal groups to support and expand the group’s efforts in 2008.  For over 20 years, Massey spousal groups in West Virginia and Kentucky have been instrumental in addressing community priorities, including education, literacy and poverty.  The increased funding will more than double the organizations’ budget from the previous year.  Massey’s four Spousal Groups accepted Chairman/CEO Don Blankenship’s contribution recently at Cedar Grove, WV, where the groups are planning to build a new park by contributing $75,000 as well as equipment and volunteer hours. Massey has also put more than $1 million into college and post-graduate scholarships to assist students from Central Appalachia communities pursuing engineering and health care degrees.  The fund will be allocated over the next five years and will help dozens of deserving students.

For the second consecutive year, American Electric Power has been named the most “adoption-friendly workplace” in the energy and utilities sector by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.  AEP reimburses employees up to $3,000 per child and provides up to 40 hours of paid leave for new adoptive parents.  Fifty-four employees have benefited from AEP’s Adoption Assistance program during the past three years.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced plans to provide $1.3 billion funding for multiple clean-coal plans, replacing initial plans for a clean-coal power plant in Illinois.  DOE plans to use the original name of FutureGen.  DOE will solicit applications from power plant developers to share in the $1.3 billion project to finance new coal-fired power plants that use carbon capture and storage technology, or integrated gasification combined cycle technology.  DOE will need congressional approval to reallocate the money earmarked for the Matoon project.

ADA-ES, Littleton, CO, has a contract by a major utility to supply treated activated carbon (AC) to enable the utility to reduce mercury emissions to meet state regulations for coal fired generating plants.  The five-year contract requires ADA to begin delivering AC upon written notice from the utility, expected to start in the third quarter of 2009, resulting in total revenues of some $35 million over the term of the contract.    Earlier, ADA announced plans for building a new large-scale AC production facility with the first of six production lines expected to be operational in early 2010.

American Electric Power, Columbus, OH, has opened a new 83,500-square–foot facility in the Village of New Albany that houses the company’s electricity transmission control operations.  The operations center performs real-time monitoring of the transmission grid and communicates with the regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and six AEP transmission-dispatching centers within the company’s 11-state service territory.