Coal

Utility Southern Co’s Alabama unit announced on Monday that it would develop a utility-scale, battery energy storage system of 150 megawatts (MW) at the former site of its coal-fired plant in Walker County. CONTEXT The new Gorgas Battery Facility is designed to house lithium-ion phosphate battery packs with a 2-hour lifespan. Construction should begin in this year, and be finished by 2027. Alabama Power said that the seven-acre facility would be designed as an independent system, which will be connected to and charged directly from electric grid. Why it's important BESSs have become increasingly important as companies and countries move...

Kenan Gashi, a shop owner in Kosovo, saws the limbs of old mannequins and then throws them in machines donated by the U.S. Government that shred the plastic and clean it so that it can be reused. Gashi's business of recycling in Fushe Kosova has been transformed since it received equipment from USAID two years ago. This prompted him to plan to hire more employees. Gashi, however, is now worried. Gashi is worried now. Now, the Trump administration has frozen USAID's funding and is attempting to reduce the agency and U.S. Foreign Aid in line with his "America First Agenda"....

Evergy Inc missed its fourth-quarter profit estimate on Thursday as the company was affected by higher operating expenses and interest costs. Evergy's borrowing costs are likely to increase as interest rates continue to rise. Utility companies like Evergy need additional capital for maintenance of the grid and other expenses. Total operating expenses for the company in the third quarter increased by 2.8% compared to a year earlier, to $1.04billion. Interest costs also rose from $132.2m to $142.4m. Retail sales in the fourth quarter were up 5.4% compared to a year ago, reaching $1.04 billion. This was largely due to an...

Some finance ministers did not attend a Group of 20 meeting in South Africa, while other high-ranking officials cut short their trips to the event marred by disagreements over climate change, debt, and inequality. It has never been easy to agree on a statement for a group that includes China and Russia, as well as the European Union, the United States, and other countries. The differences between the countries are more pronounced than ever before, and some of the finance ministers did not attend because they were preoccupied with their domestic politics. The finance ministers of many of G20's largest...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted West Virginia, the fourth such state to receive this authority, formal authority on Tuesday to oversee carbon-capture projects in the State. The agency has signed a final regulation granting West Virginia primary enforcement authority (also known as primacy) to allow so-called Class VI Wells to accelerate approvals and progress the development of massive Carbon Sequestration Projects. As one of my very first acts as EPA administrator, I'm proud to have signed this rule, which will allow West Virginia to be independent in regulating and granting permits, and also work to protect our environment and...

Amplats CEO Craig Miller stated on Wednesday that Anglo American Platinum has a lot of interest from investors as it prepares for its spin-off as a separate entity. The spin-off is part the group's restructuring plan, which aims to fight off a $49 Billion takeover bid by bigger rival BHP and focus on more lucrative copper and iron ore properties. Miller, without providing details, said that Amplats will be separated mid-year and the company's name will change. Amplats, the only PGMs producer in London will have a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange, which could attract new investors. Miller...

China is the largest energy importer in the world, but its purchases of US crude oil, LNG and coal are relatively modest. This reduces the impact of Beijing’s Tuesday move to impose retaliatory duties on the imports of U.S. natural gas, LNG, and coal. China's Finance Ministry announced that, on February 10, it will impose tariffs of up to 15% on the importation of U.S. coal, LNG, and crude oil, as well as some autos and farm equipment. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed that Chinese imports of U.S. Crude Oil fell 52% in the first eleven months...

Germany will hold an immediate national election on February 23 after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-way alliance. The main political parties, their polling positions, and key policy issues are listed below: Parties Germany has two "big-tent", centrist parties: Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats and the opposition Conservatives, an alliance between the Christian Democrats (CDU), and their Bavarian counterpart party, the Christian Social Union CSU. In recent years, smaller parties like the Greens or Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right party, have gained ground. All four parties, the SPD, Greens, Conservatives and AfD, have candidates running for chancellor. According to...

President Donald Trump's. administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to put on. hold prepared arguments in a bid by fuel manufacturers to challenge. California's standards for automobile emissions and electric automobiles. under a federal air contamination law. The brand-new Republican administration likewise made comparable requests in. three other cases involving the actions of federal companies,. giving an early sign that it will take a fresh appearance at a. number of legal concerns before the court and possibly change. positions from Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. The expected changes in the government's position may be a. better ideological suitable...

Germany will hold a breeze national election on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's threeway union. Here are the primary celebrations contending, their survey standings, and the key policy issues: CELEBRATIONS Germany has two centrist, big-tent celebrations: Scholz's. centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the opposition. conservatives, an alliance of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and. their Bavarian sibling celebration, the Christian Social Union (CSU). Nevertheless, they have both lost support over the last few years, with. smaller sized parties such as the ecological Greens and far-right. Alternative for Germany (AfD) gaining ground. The SPD, conservatives, Greens and AfD...

Russian forces are closing in on the tactically important eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after capturing a string of towns to its south, and Ukraine has actually halted production at its only coking coal mine nearby due to the advance. Here are some key points about Pokrovsk and the fight. WHAT IS POKROVSK? Pokrovsk is a roadway and rail center in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk area, which had a pre-war population of some 60,000 people. While the majority of people have actually run away, Ukraine estimated last month that approximately 11,000 still stay in the city. It pushes an essential road...

Germany will hold snap elections on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition. Here are the main parties competing, their survey standings, and the crucial policy problems: PARTIES Germany has two centrist, big camping tent celebrations: Scholz's. centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the opposition. conservatives, an alliance of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and. their Bavarian sis party the Christian Social Union (CSU). However, they have both lost assistance in the last few years, with. smaller sized celebrations such as the environmental Greens and far-right. Option for Germany (AfD) gaining ground. The SPD, conservatives, Greens and AfD...

China's coal exports increased 2.1% in the past year, according to official data released on Friday. The import arbitrage was still open, despite the risks that could affect the outlook of imports. China releases data for both months together to reduce the impact of Lunar New Year which can fall in either month. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that imports from January to February were 76.12 millions metric tons. This is up from 74.52million tons the previous year. Two major industry groups last week called for limits on coal imports from China, especially low-quality coals, due to...

Beijing has largely promised to continue the mild stimulus policy seen last year. The news that the United States and Canada have agreed to a 5% economic growth goal and promised to increase consumption as well as deal with any negative effects of the trade war, were positive. The parliament meeting of this week was also far short of any sort of announcements of stimuli that could have given commodity markets confidence that China, as the largest buyer of natural resources in the world, will see a meaningful increase in imports by 2025. What's likely to happen is that the...

The impact of China's retaliatory duties on U.S. energy exports will be felt most strongly in the seaborne coal market. Beijing imposed an import tariff of 15% on U.S. coal, liquefied gas (LNG), and crude oil on 4 February after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tax on all imports. Tariffs could kill energy trade between China and the United States. The United States is the biggest exporter of LNG, but ranks fourth for coal and crude oil. The U.S. shares of China's crude oil and LNG imports are small at around 2% each, so the global markets...

Industry officials have said that India's thermal imports will fall in 2025 for the second consecutive year due to a decreasing reliance on coal as a power source, slowed economic activity, and record-high inventories. The six Indian and foreign coal traders who spoke at the Coaltrans India Conference in New Delhi all expected that shipments would decline this year. Three traders predicted that imports would plummet by about 10%, to 155 million tons. Two traders predicted a drop of 1-2% while the third forecasted a decline of 7-8%. The traders did not want to be named as they weren't authorised...

Five industry officials have said that the United States will increase coal exports to India following China's tariffs on U.S. energy imports. This could lead to a decline in Australia and Russia’s market share in India. China's Finance Ministry announced last week that it would impose a 15% tax on the import of U.S. Coal. The officials claimed this could force U.S. miner to ship coal to India, the second largest coal importer in the world behind China. "Three U.S. shipments that were meant to go to China are now in India, and another 10 shipments are awaiting." "These are...

After Beijing retaliated to President Donald Trump’s tariffs by imposing its own measures, the trade between China and the United States in crude oil and liquefied gas is now effectively dead. China, which is the largest importer of three energy commodities in the world, imposed import duties on Tuesday of 15% for U.S. coal and LNG, and 10% for crude oil and farm machinery. Beijing made its move after the Trump administration imposed a 10% additional tariff on all Chinese imports into the United States. The 10% tax was less than the 60% Trump had threatened during his last-year campaign...

China's iron ore imports and seaborne coal arrivals are expected to be soft in the first quarter, with January arrivals falling to multi-month lows. The price trend for two of the most important bulk commodities is divergent. Iron ore has held steady, while thermal coal has fallen to its lowest level in almost four years. According to Kpler, commodity analysts, China is the largest iron ore purchaser in the world. It will import 99.5 millions metric tons of this key raw material for steel in January. This would be a drop from the official December customs figure, which was 112.5...

There are two ways of taking a look at the 1.7% decrease in China's steel output last year. The first is that it confirms that the world's largest producer of the key commercial metal is now in a developed downtrend, and even more weakness is likely this year. The second is that the steel industry is actually remarkably resilient in the face of major financial challenges, and that output has been essentially flat at extremely strong levels for the previous 5 years. Both are basically factual, and show the classic glass half-full or half-empty predicament. On the half-empty side of...

China, the world's leading coal importer, bought less Russian coal in 2024 while increasing purchases from other key providers, led by Australia, throughout a. record year for coal imports, customs data revealed on Monday. Purchases by China in 2015 reached an all-time high of. 547.2 million tons, or a record 41% of internationally traded coal,. according to LSEG research, providing China increased rates power. in international markets. Chinese need is helping assistance rates at levels that,. according to the International Energy Firm (IEA), are 50%. higher than the average during the 2017-19 period. In 2015, imports from leading supplier Indonesia...

China, the world's. most significant coal consumer, extended its lead in imports over No. 2. buyer India in 2015 to the largest because at least 2013, customizeds. information shows, cementing its hold on worldwide coal markets and. assisting to suppress a slide in rates. International thermal coal costs have pulled away from record highs. hit after Russia's 2022 intrusion of Ukraine, however are 50% greater. than the average during the 2017-19 duration, according to the. International Energy Firm (IEA). China's hunger is triggering prices to remain in the existing. variety. If not, costs will really decrease, Ramli Ahmad,. president director...

China's coal imports increased 14.4% in 2024 to a record high, official data revealed on Monday, as lower global coal prices spurred purchasers to substitute imports for domestic supply. Coal imports for the year amounted to 542.7 million metric lots, according to China's General Administration of Customs, up from 474.42 million loads in 2023. The increase in China's coal imports in 2024 was supported by declines in seaborne coal rates which encouraged import arbitrage in relation to China's domestic supply for a wider series of coal types, stated Toby Hassall, lead coal analyst for LSEG, adding that development in domestic...

China's coal imports from Australia rose to their greatest in more than 4 years in November, custom-mades information revealed on Friday, as deliveries continue to recuperate from an unofficial ban on Australian coal that was lifted in January 2023. Australian coal imports were 9.3 million metric heaps in November, according to the General Administration of Customs, the highest because April 2020 and up 47% from the exact same month of 2023. Year to date, at 74.15 million tons, 2024 coal imports from Australia have actually currently exceeded last year's 52.47 million lots and are on track to top the 77.51...