GLG News by Elevators and Escalators Experts

    SO2 allowances are traded daily in the broker and private party markets.  The value of these credits are down, affecting both the cost to generate electricity on coal and the realized sales price received by coal suppliers.

    The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) requires a further reduction in NOx from coal-fired power plants starting in 2009.  This reduction in NOx will add to the dispatch cost from coal-fired generation.

    Coal lease rates in the PRB are climbing and will cut in coal companies’ margins as exhibited by Foundations recent successful lease bid and Rio Tinto’s higher, but unsuccessful bid.  Also, the upfront payments are due often before the coal is even mined.

    Railroads impose fuel surcharges in transportation agreements such as for coal transport, but the recovery mechanism timing follows the railroads’ purchase of the fuel causing an earnings lag.     Also, legacy coal transportation agreements do not have fuel...

    New Jersey vs. EPA was filed by several states and environmentalists against the EPA’s removal of power plants from the list of mercury sources subject to a Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standard and that mercury cannot be regulated by a cap and trade system under...

    The Citigroup reports states U.S. coal supply is ample and coal plant inventory levels are adequate such that the higher coal prices of the last several weeks will not hold.  The discussion in the commentary section addresses U.S. coal supply and coal plant inventory and...

    The anticipated export of Eastern U.S. coal in 2008 and 2009 will need to be sourced in great extent from the Powder River Basin (PRB).  This is in addition to the new coal plants coming on in 2008 and 2009 using PRB coal. The discussion below provides a forecast on...

    The global coal availability and price has provided the opportunity for U.S. Eastern coals to be placed in export to Europe.  This has dramatically increased Eastern coal prices.  This provides an opportunity for Western Powder River Basin (PRB) coals.

    The increase in coal prices will obviously increase the electricity generating costs at a coal plant exposed to these price increases.  The impact to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and their potential margins is understood.  Regulated utilities, on the other hand,...

    The global coal availability and subsequent coal price explosion has provided a great benefit to Eastern U.S. coal producers.  The Western U.S. coals may not be able to appreciably directly-participate in the export surge.