‘We breathe filth’: a Bulgarian town’s losing battle against a coal plant
The 250 megawatt (MW) Brikel lignite-fired plant linked to Bulgarian businessman Hristo Kovachki continues to operate despite residents, environmentalists and regulators’ complaints that the plant breaches pollution standards, writes Elitsa Simeonova in Radio Free Europe.
Nothing new? Records show startling new info on politicians’ roles in Ohio bailout scandal
Recently released records shed new light on the roles of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted in Ohio’s corrupt political bribery and nuclear and coal bailout scandal, writes David Dewitt in the Ohio Capitol Journal.
How drought threatens electricity producing, coal-fired power plants
The prolonged drought in America’s western states has revealed the risk coal plants face due to declining water availability, writes Julia Simon for NPR.
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South32 drops plan to expand mine under Sydney water catchment
South32 has abandoned its plan to extend the Dendrobium metallurgical coal mine underneath Sydney’s drinking water attachment after sustained opposition to the project by WaterNSW and the local community. The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) rejected the proposed extension in February 2021. After lobbying by South32, the New South Wales Government designated the project as State Significant Infrastructure, to be assessed by the Department of Planning. The expansion aimed to produce an additional 78 million tonnes of coal. In June 2022, WaterNSW reiterated that the project threatened water quantity and quality. It also warned that underground mining subsidence could affect the stability of Avon Dam, which supplies water to the Illawarra region. The decision was welcomed by Protect Our Water Catchment, a local group, which said it was a “terrific outcome for all those who spent many hours working to stop what was a clearly unacceptable proposal from the very beginning.” (ABC News, Lock the Gate, South32)
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NSW coal mine decision delayed after discovery of new lizard species: The NSW IPC has agreed to delay its decision on MACH Energy’s proposed expansion of the Mount Pleasant Operation following the discovery of a new species of lizard on the mine site. The Lock the Gate Alliance welcomed the delay after having expressed concern that it would be extraordinary to decide to expand the mine before considering the impact on the new species. MACH Energy’s proposed expansion would extend the life of the existing mine by 22 years to 2048. The species was only discovered by scientists in July this year and is endemic to the Hunter Valley and Liverpool Plains. The IPC said it would make its decision by September 8, with the final decision on the mine made by the federal Minister for Environment, Tanya Plibersek. (ABC News)
US company fined US$500,000 over coal plant explosion that killed five: The Tampa Electric Company (TECO) has been fined US$500,000 over a June 2017 explosion at the 1822 MW Big Bend Station that killed five workers and injured several more. TECO, a subsidiary of the Canadian energy company Emera, pleaded guilty to “wilfully violating” an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety standard. At the time of the accident, the plant consisted of four coal units with water-filled “slag tanks” underneath each furnace. When slag accumulated in one of the tanks, TECO hired a contractor to attempt high-pressure water blasting to clear the blockage. However, the utility provided no pre-job briefing to the contractors and could not locate the specified procedure for the job. Rather than shut the unit down, TECO wanted the work completed with it still online. The dislodgement of part of the blockage resulted in an explosion of molten slag, killing five workers. The maximum fine for a breach of OSHA regulations killing more than one worker is US$500,000. (Tampa Bay Times, US Department of Justice)
Flood-hit families launch legal action against US coal company: Families along Upper and Lower River Caney in Eastern Kentucky have filed a legal claim against Blackhawk Mining and its subsidiary, Pine Branch Mining, alleging the failure of silt dams at the mine contributed significantly to property damage downstream. The lawsuit has been filed by 59 families in the valley after the July 28 floods swept through, killing one resident with another still missing. The lawsuit argues the failure of the dams at the Pine Creek Complex, along with damage by mining to land upstream, led to the damage to houses and the contamination of their drinking water. (NBC News)
Ohio regulator shines a light on the costs of the coal bailout: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio estimates that since 2020 electricity consumers have paid US$173 million in subsidies for two loss-making coal plants. The commitment to subsidise the 1303 MW Clifty Creek coal plant in Indiana and the 1086 MW Kyger Creek plant in Ohio was included in HB6, the bill at the heart of the US$61 million Ohio corruption scandal. A recently released Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) court document revealed close ties between FirstEnergy, which bankrolled most of the campaign costs for HB6, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted. DeWine and Husted, both Republicans, are facing re-election in November. The OCC request also revealed that Murray Energy, a coal company, contributed $100,000 to Hardworking Ohioans, a group that backed Republican legislative candidates supporting Larry Householder for Ohio House Speaker. (Ohio Capital Journal, Cleveland, News5 Cleveland)
India may delay the closure of old coal plants: Officials at the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change are reportedly considering a proposal to close just 5000 MW of old coal plants by 2030 compared to 25,000 MW slated for closure in a 2020 plan. The proposal envisages coal capacity increasing to about 250,000 MW compared to the current coal plant capacity of 204,000 MW. The Global Coal Plant Tracker estimates that India has 31,300 MW of new coal plants. However, some of these projects are owned by companies in financial difficulties or dependent on expensive imported coal. Sunil Dahiya from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said, “any rupee invested in new coal infrastructure takes India away from its net zero goals.” New non-hydro renewables capacity is cheaper than coal generation. (Economic Times)
South African civil society groups reject Bain claims over state capture: South African civil society groups, governance experts and a whistleblower have dismissed claims made in a full-page newspaper ad by Bain & Company. The Zondo Commission into state capture found that “collusion” between Bain, leaders of the South African Revenue Service and parts of the Zuma Government was “one of the clearest demonstrations of state capture as observed in other SOEs [state-owned enterprises] and state institutions”. In early August, the UK Government announced that it would block Bain & Company from government contracts for three years over its “grave professional misconduct” in South Africa. Another consultancy firm, McKinsey, was awarded a contract with a Gupta-linked company initially hired as a subcontractor for work with Eskom. It was later found the agreement, with a potential value of $US700 million, was illegal. The National Prosecuting Authority later criticised McKinsey’s contract with Eskom. (EWN, BizNews, Guardian, The Conversation)
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Canada: Nova Scotia Power will put the 158 MW Unit 2 at the Lingan coal plant into cold reserve in October.
Germany: Uniper restarts the 875 MW Heyden 4 hard coal plant and will run it until April 30, 2023.
Kosovo: With two coal units offline for maintenance and hydro generation hit by drought, the Kosovo Government has resorted to rolling outages to prevent blackouts.
Pakistan: In a meeting with Fuji Fertilizer Company, Sindh’s provincial Minister for Energy touted the potential of converting Thar lignite to gas, urea fertiliser and other products.
Russia: The Russian state regulator has approved the expansion of Vostochny Port in the Far East from 50 to 70 million tonnes of coal a year.
Sri Lanka: A Russian company, which has agreed to provide a credit period of six months, may win the contract to supply 4.5 million tonnes of coal for the troubled Norochcholai Coal Power Plant.
US: The Tennessee Valley Authority told South Memphis residents it was considering various options for storing coal ash from the Allen Fossil Plant when it was already pursuing plans for the South Shelby Landfill in South Memphis.
US: A safety officer at Black Diamond Mining has been indicted for submitting results from a device left running in a first-aid building, not in the mine.
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Russian mines cut production as sanctions bite: The European ban on Russian coal imports, financing and insurance has led to four major open-cut coal mines in the Kuznetsk Basin in southwestern Siberia suspending operations. The Kemerovo regional government told the Russian state-owned media service TASS that mining has been suspended at the Kuznetsky Yuzhny, Zadubrovsky Novy and Kiselevsky open pit mines and Polyany JSC mine. Russia exported about 50 million tonnes of coal to Europe in 2021. Exports to China have increased substantially, but cargoes have been discounted by 45 to 50 per cent. The mines are over 7000 kilometres from the Pacific port of Vostochny, which provides access to the Asian market. Natalya Zubarevich from Moscow State University said the production cuts would significantly affect regions heavily dependent on coal. She said the capacity of the Russian Railways line to the east is limited. “The Trans-Siberian is not made of rubber,” she said. (Moscow Times [Russian])
Financial firm warns Adani is “deeply overleveraged”: A report by CreditSights, a part of the Fitch financial services firm, has warned that the Adani Group is “deeply overleveraged”, with the group’s debt-funded projects putting the group at risk in the worst-case scenario of defaulting on its loans. CreditSights warned that the company had diversified into industry sectors such as ports, airports, cement, renewables, data centres, media and healthcare. The analysts noted the Adani Group had assets tied to the “healthy functioning” of the Indian economy and benefitted from its “strong relationship” with the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This week the company announced Adani Power had bought DB Power’s 1200 MW Baradarha power station in Chhattisgarh. Adani also plans to acquire a majority stake in NDTV, a major Indian television network. (Bloomberg, Business Standard, Reuters)
Plan to auction 17 coal blocks surrendered by Indian government utilities: India’s Minister of Coal and Mines of India has announced that the government will promptly submit 17 undeveloped coal blocks for auction. Government business enterprises surrendered the blocks. The government directed that the enterprises surrender coal blocks that had not been developed within six years of allocation. (Business Standard)
European Union carbon price climbs to new record high: European Union emissions trading scheme credits hit a record high of €99 per tonne (US$99.3 per tonne), driven by reduced hydro, nuclear and wind generation, increased demand and higher gas generation. The higher gas generation has driven demand for emissions credits, as extreme gas prices encouraged increased coal generation. The European Commission has announced that €29 billion (US$29 billion) up to 2030 is available to compensate energy-intensive industries to offset some of the increased energy costs caused by the cost of emissions credits. (Financial Times, S & P Global)
Indian iron companies test Mozambican coal: An Indian coal trader said ten Indian steel and sponge iron mills had ordered supplies of Mozambican coal. Mozambican metallurgical coal sells for US$220 per tonne for customers, which is about US$30 to US$40 per tonne cheaper than South African cargoes. For the last decade, major Mozambique coal projects have struggled with the high costs of accessing international markets, with major companies, including Rio Tinto and Vale, writing off billions of dollars on failed mining plans. Problems with Transnet, the government-owned rail operator, also constrain South African exports utilising the total capacity of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal. (Hindu Business Line)
UN Race to Zero change has a knock-on effect on global finance alliance: The mid-June decision by the United Nations-backed Race to Zero to require members to “phase down and out all unabated fossil fuels” has had knock-on effects on the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). The alliance, which was “anchored in the Race to Zero campaign to ensure credibility and consistency”, has 450 finance sector members, many of which support new coal projects. In response to the policy change by Race to Zero, GFANZ stated, “there is no rationale for financing new coal projects”. An anonymous source associated with GFANZ said the Race to Zero is considering creating an inspector general role to ensure alliance members comply with policy commitments. (Financial Times, GFANZ)
Indonesia increases royalty rate for mid-sized producers: The Indonesian Government has announced that from September 14 it will increase the royalty rate on coal produced by small and mid-sized producers from the current 2–7 per cent to 13.5 per cent. The new rate will vary according to the type of the mine, Indonesia’s international coal benchmark and the calorific value of the coal. The royalty will be waived for coal used in its downstream sector. In April, the government announced the royalty rate for major coal producers operating under older mining licences would increase from 13.5 per cent to 28 per cent. Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal. (Kitco)
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