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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources said Tuesday it was cutting production by 16 million tons and eliminating 1,200 jobs companywide, laying off 400 workers immediately by closing mines in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The mine shutdowns start Tuesday, while the rest of the layoffs will be completed by the end of the first quarter after Alpha fulfills current sales obligations, Chief Executive Officer Kevin Crutchfield said. In all, the layoffs amount to nearly a tenth of Alpha's 13,000-person workforce.
Alpha said it was closing four mines in West Virginia, three in Virginia and one in Pennsylvania. They are a mix of deep and surface mines, and all are non-union operations.
.............
Crutchfield said the shutdowns and layoffs are a necessary part of ensuring Alpha survives in what has become a difficult U.S. market, where coal companies face a dual challenge: Power plants are shifting to cheap, abundant natural gas, while companies like his face "a regulatory environment that's aggressively aimed at constraining the use of coal."
First off, what does this have to do with elections?
Crutchfield can complain about regulations all he wants, but the truth is that the dive in demand for thermal coal is pretty much market driven. Thermal Coal Losses Out - Market Watch From teh artical,
Quote:
"... in the U.S., only one out of 165 new power plants completed in the first half of the year burned coal, according to an Aug. 20 report from the Energy Information Administration.
Out of the total number of new power plants, 105 were under 25 megawatts. “Many of these use renewable energy sources, most commonly solar and landfill gas,” the EIA said"
Burning coal for electricity generation is a dirty and inefficient process that is being supplanted by less expensive natural gas and renewables. There will always be a need for coal in metals manufacturing, but making power within it should have been left behind in the 20th century. Hopefully those getting laid off can receive help and job training to reenter the workforce better prepared for this changing market.
Crutchfield can complain about regulations all he wants, but the truth is that the dive in demand for thermal coal is pretty much market driven.
Strange then that the demand hasn't really dropped that much under Obama's presidency, yet they were never forced to lay off workers until now isn't it?
By the way....I think that the owner of a Coal Company would know better than you why he's forced to lay off people and close mines.
Strange then that the demand hasn't really dropped that much under Obama's presidency, yet they were never forced to lay off workers until now isn't it?
By the way....I think that the owner of a Coal Company would know better than you why he's forced to lay off people and close mines.
At least look at links before refuting the contents.
Quote:
"...domestic consumption by electric utilities fell to 928.6 million tons in 2011, compared to 970.1 million tons in 2010 and 1.04 billion tons in 2008, according to preliminary data on 2011 from the National Mining Association."
"...only one out of 165 new power plants completed in the first half of the year burned coal."
That is a massive drop in market demand for thermal coal.
Rather than provide government support and subsidy for an industry which largely contaminates our air and causes countless deaths as a result and which endangers the lives of the people hired to do the dirty work the extremists ought to be congratulating federal agencies who have been attempting to protect U.S. citizens and at the same time they should be supporting clean energy projects. They're not intelligent enough to understand the differences, however.
You think it's cheaper to CONVERT a coal plant to use natural gas? You really don't have a clue do you?
The OWNER stated what the reasons was.
Do YOU know better than he does?
Gee, what a surprise that Kevin Crutchfield, the CEO quoted in that article, would throw in a GOP talking point. He was an invited attendee at the Koch brothers strategy meeting in 2010:
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Actually some coal operations are successful.... if theyre well managed, comply with regs and keep their costs under control, like say, Twentymile Coal in Oak Creek, CO, known as one of the most productive and efficient coal mines in the world. Twentymile also anticipated the demand for clean coal and made the necessary investments, which naturally paid off later.
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