Indian court wants national body to oversee coal ash management: The National Green Tribunal (NGT), an Indian court for environmental law cases, has directed the Modi Government to establish a body comprising the secretaries of environment, coal and power ministries to oversee the management of India’s coal ash dumps and take action against non-compliant power plants. India currently has over 1.6 billion tonnes of coal ash in tailings dams and landfills. The court ordered Reliance Power to increase compensation payments to the families of six people killed by the April 2020 collapse of the coal ash dam at its 4000 MW Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project in Madhya Pradesh. (Times of India)

Indian court fines utility and orders compliance with pollution standards: The NGT has also ordered Mahagenco, a subsidiary of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, to deposit interim compensation of 50 million rupees (US$672,000) and take steps within three months to cut air, water and land pollution from its 2920 MW Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station. The tribunal also ordered the creation of a panel to report on the plant’s compliance with air pollution standards, the installation of flue gas desulphurisation equipment, control of mine dust emissions and the management of coal ash slurry. The tribunal warned that Mahagenco would incur an additional monthly fine of one million rupees (US$134,444) if it did not comply with environmental standards within three months. After six months, the panel could increase the penalty and shut the plant until it complies with current standards. (Times of India)

US President flags prospect of Manchin-friendly climate plan: In the wake of the rejection of the Build Back Better bill by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, President Biden is reportedly open to negotiating a narrower US$500 billion package, which would gain the support of all 50 Democratic senators. A bill that satisfies Manchin is likely to include clean energy tax credits, carbon capture and storage projects, energy efficiency measures, and support for domestic manufacturing of renewable energy components. The Environmental Protection Agency is considering additional measures that could decarbonise the US power system by 2035. Measures under consideration include revisions of the mercury and air toxics emissions limits, tighter regulation of pollution that causes regional haze and stricter coal ash standards. (GreenWire, E & E News)

NGOs dismayed at Czech Republic’s proposed Turow mine settlement: The NGO Together For Water has expressed dismay at the Czech Republic’s proposed settlement of its Court of Justice of the European Union dispute with Poland over the cross-border impacts of the Turow mine. Czech Republic’s Minister for the Environment, Anna Hubackova, has reportedly agreed to a draft proposal that commits to dropping the legal case against Poland in return for a payment of €50 million (US$57 million) in compensation. Together For Water said the draft proposal to rely on an underground barrier to prevent the cross-boundary flow of groundwater would not work. It said the proposed deal would breach Czech and European Union environmental laws. (The First News, Expats.cz)

NSW government agency backs major mine extension: The New South Wales Department of Planning has recommended approval expansion of Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri underground mine, which would extend the life of the mine from 2031 to 2044. The mine currently produces about 11 million tonnes a year but will be depleted by 2031. The Lock the Gate Alliance estimates the mine expansion would significantly impact water bores owned by some farmers, cut water flows into the Namoi River, and cause subsidence in the Pillaga forest. It estimates the extension would emit over 30 million tonnes of direct greenhouse pollution and 456 million tonnes of downstream emissions. The NSW Independent Planning Commission will review the company’s proposed mine extension with public comment open until February 21, 2022. (ABC News, Lock the Gate, Independent Planning Commission)

Uncertainty surrounds proposed Mongolian coal plant for Rio Tinto mine: Turquoise Hill Resources, a Rio Tinto subsidiary, has reached a new agreement with the Government of Mongolia to allow the US$6.9 billion underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper project. Under the terms of its 2009 agreement to develop the mine, the company agreed to source power locally. The Mongolian Government has pushed for the development of the 450 MW mine-mouth Tavan Tolgoi coal plant to cater for the mine. In a June 2020 statement, the parties agreed the government would bear the billion-dollar-plus cost of the plant. In the latest announcement, Rio Tinto stated it will extend its power agreement with the Inner Mongolia Power International Cooperation Company beyond July 2023. It said it would also “work with the Government to support long-term renewable energy generation in support of the Mongolian grid.” Rio Tinto did not respond to a request seeking clarification on whether the mine would purchase power from the proposed Tavan Tolgoi coal plant. (Reuters, Rio Tinto)

Australia: South32 reports a drop in coal production due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

Australia: The first cargo of liquefied hydrogen from Latrobe Valley brown coal conversion has been shipped to Japan.

Australia: WaterNSW has expressed serious concerns about South32’s revised Dendrobium underground coal mine extension proposal on water supplies.

Bangladesh: Orion Group has commissioned a 134 MW solar project established on land formerly earmarked for the 660 MW Khulna coal plant.

Indonesia: President Joko Widodo has launched Bukit Asam’s US$2.3 billion coal-to-gas plant in South Sumatra.

UK: Britishvolt plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant on the former site of the Blyth coal plant in Northumberland.

US: Alabama Power fined US$75,000 over hydrochloric acid emissions from 404 MW Unit 4 at the Barry Steam plant near Bucks, Alabama.

US: Dominion proposes a new coal ash landfill to cater for waste from existing old dams at the Possum Point power station in Virginia.

Maecenas: sed ante pellentesque, posuere leo id, eleifend dolor.

Indonesian disruption pushes thermal coal shipment to US$300 per tonne: Thermal coal spot prices continue to rise, with one Australian cargo reportedly selling for US$300 per tonne, with Japanese utilities competing to secure supplies to cover delayed shipments from Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter. At the end of 2021, Indonesia announced a ban on thermal coal exports due to mining companies not meeting their domestic market obligation (DMO) of supplying 25 per cent of production to the national power utility PLN. Since then, Indonesia has released 47 cargoes from companies that have met their DMO, but uncertainty remains over the compliance of other exporters. Indonesia is considering a proposal that could see companies that did not meet their DMO fined based on the difference between the export price and the US$70 per tonne benchmark price for local supply. A document suggests the penalty could be US$10–12 per tonne. (Bloomberg, Platts)

Export market ripples from Indonesian export ban: Analysts estimate that despite Indonesia easing restrictions on its January export coal ban, importers are likely to face a shortfall of several million tonnes in January and February. Market data from Keplr indicates Indonesian exports in January are likely to be just 17.7 million tonnes, a 43 per cent decline on December exports. Despite the shortfall, thermal coal exports from Russia and South Africa have declined compared to December figures. Most of the increase in Australian exports comprises metallurgical coal. In South Africa, Russia and Australia, export coal prices have increased but are likely to moderate as Indonesian exports resume and winter heating demand by utilities eases. (Reuters)

Academics warn against proposed Canadian CCS subsidy: Canada’s Minister for Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, has confirmed the government will unveil a plan to provide a tax credit for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, including those used to increase oil production from enhanced oil recovery projects. Canada’s only coal-based CCS project, the 110 MW Unit 3 on the Boundary Dam power station, sells captured carbon dioxide for use in an enhanced oil recovery project. David Schlissel from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said the tax credit would operate as an incentive to keep coal and oil projects running. The proposal has prompted hundreds of academics to send an open letter to Canada’s Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, warning the tax credit “will constitute a substantial new fossil fuel subsidy”. (National Observer, EnergyMix, Open letter to Chrystia Freeland)

India’s largest power utility steps up coal imports: NTPC, which generates about one-quarter of India’s electricity, has sought an estimated 10 million tonnes of thermal coal from the global market since October 2021, a switch in its buying strategy. NTPC consumes about 170 million tonnes of coal per year. As a government-owned power utility, NTPC had sought to follow the government’s preference to avoid expensive coal imports and seek supply from only domestic mines. However, after a domestic supply crunch gripped Indian power utilities last year, NTPC initially issued tenders in October 2021 for two million tonnes of thermal coal. One of its most recent purchases is an order of one million tonnes from Adani Enterprises. NTPC had not sought new coal shipments in the preceding two years but had honoured previous purchases. (Mining Weekly)

South African industry warns of risks of Eskom pushing coal plants harder: In a public hearing before the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), Eskom stated that part of its justification for a 20.5 per cent power price increase from April 1 is the cost of increased gas generation. Eskom has proposed increased gas generation to offset a decline in the energy availability factor of its coal fleet from 72 per cent to 62 per cent. Business and consumer groups have opposed the prosed price increase. A spokesperson for the Energy Intensive Users Group, Fanele Monde, urged NERSA to require Eskom to detail its proposed maintenance plan rather than accept Eskom’s 10 per cent maintenance allocation. He also warned that the utility’s plan to increase utilisation levels of its remaining available coal plants could cause further outages. “The plants cannot take that hard-driving, and they will break down,” he said. (Fin24, Engineering News)

US coal lobby group presses for modelling of coal phase-out: America’s Power, a US coal industry lobby group, has called on PJM Interconnection, the electricity market operator serving 13 states and the District of Columbia, to include the retirement of all 50,000 MW of coal capacity in its next round of modelling on the integration of renewables. The current modelling, released before Christmas, includes a scenario that assumes 50 per cent of PJM’s energy comes from renewables by 2050. The group argues this scenario is likely to understate the amount of renewables generation commissioned if Congress extends tax credits for renewables. It claims the tax credit could result in an “almost doubling” of solar capacity by 2031 and lead to the retirement of an additional 70,000 MW of coal capacity, one-third of the national fleet. America’s Power opposes the tax credit extension and argues accelerated coal retirements would require additional balancing resources for system reliability. (America’s Power [pdf])

Report finds European utilities failing to meet 2030 coal exit target: A report by the climate policy think tank Ember and Europe Beyond Coal found that only nine of 21 major European power utilities have committed to end coal generation in the European Union and OECD countries by 2030 and the rest of the world by 2040. The review found the worst-performing utilities are headquartered in Poland, Czechia, Germany, Bulgaria and Finland. The report found 16 of the 21 power utilities have adopted the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Five utilities – CEZ, EnBW, Fortum/Uniper, PGE and RWE – have not adopted strategies with the International Energy Agency targets of a 2030 coal phase-out in the EU and OECD countries and a 2040 end date in the rest of the world. (Bloomberg, Ember)