CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Proposed new federal regulations, clogged rail lines and plunging prices added up to a tough year for coal mined from the Powder River Basin, but several companies are on track to exceed last year’s production and the region’s mines remain valuable assets.
Many warn that burning coal to generate electricity is a huge contributor to climate change. Even so, coal companies predict higher electric bills for consumers and dire consequences for their industry if a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal this year to cut carbon dioxide emissions 30 percent from 2005 levels takes effect.
The EPA is reviewing public comments on the plan and expects to finalize the proposal next year.
Also affecting the industry this year: Rail lines clogged by shipments of surging oil production in North Dakota. Coal inventories at power plants reached their lowest levels in years.
Missed coal shipments amounted to about 20 million tons on the year.
All the while, falling international coal prices discouraged investment in exports overseas, the Casper Star-Tribune reported (https://bit.ly/1HSPo9c ).
Ambre Energy, the company behind that proposal and a joint owner of a dock in Longview, Washington, sold its North American assets to a Denver-based private equity firm. The company’s debts piled up and it failed to attract private investment.
Meanwhile, Oregon regulators rejected a plan to export nearly 9 million tons from a port on the Columbia River.
Despite the problems, Wyoming’s mines offered good news for many beleaguered companies.
Production at Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine, the nation’s largest, was on track to exceed 2013 levels through the first three quarters of the year.
Arch Coal also reported improving sales at its Wyoming mines. Cloud Peak Energy reported a profit in the third quarter.
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, https://www.trib.com
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