GLG News by Gypsum Wallboard Experts

    Coal generators have been taking efforts to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal-fired power plants.  Regulated utilities are required to treat the reduced SO2 emissions differently than unregulated utilities, merchant generators, and independent power producers...

    The Pacific Northwest has a tremendous amount of installed hydroelectric capacity.  The first and second quarter earnings of the investor owned utilities in the Pacific Northwest very greatly with hydroelectric conditions.  Preliminary reports are robust for the snowpack...

    Van Eck’s Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL) is designed to track the coal markets through the recently released Stowe Coal Index.  The index is comprised of 60 companies around the world in the coal industry.       Comments that follow discuss the...

    Coal prices are on the rise in many regions.  The sales price per ton only tells a portion of the story; the sulfur content of the coal also determines its final sales price to the customer.  Sulfur emissions credit prices affect the final sales price as discussed in...

    There are many production-related issues that point to a bullish coal market in 2008 and 2009.      The commentary section below discusses these bullish signals.

    The Wyoming Powder River Basin (PRB) Joint Line in May 2005 experienced two major derailments believed by the BNSF and the Union Pacific to be attributable to coal falling off the coal railcars on this rail line and fouling the ballast and preventing proper drainage.  Coal...

    Thermal coal into Europe continues to be above $100/tonne (metric ton) for 2008 as measured by the API 2 Index into Northern Europe.  It is up ~67% from prices for this same period quoted at the beginning of 2007.       The commentary calculates...

    Coal plants utilize high-calcium limestone as a reagent in flue gas desulphurization (FGD or “scrubbers”) to remove the sulfur from the coal rather than it going up the stack as air emissions. The usage of this limestone will increase as scrubbers are included on new coal plants...

    Many previously announced coal plants have been formally cancelled or delayed this year. This is the result of either regulatory rejections or uncertainty, cost increases because of materials and labor, or environmental (CO2 emissions) issues.     U.S. Department...

    There have been several published reports of coal plant cancellations due to lack of the perceived need by regulators, differences in cost recovery in rates to consumers, the belief surrounding CO2 emissions or other reasons, Cancellation of the coal plant projects does not...