India ‘Doesn’t Want Foreign Coal’ FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享Tim Loh for Bloomberg News:India has some bad news for the world’s struggling miners: it doesn’t want foreign coal.“I’m trying to find new reserves so I can remove my dependence on imports,” the country’s coal and power minister Piyush Goyal said in an interview Friday at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. Asked when India might stop importing the power-plant fuel altogether, Goyal said “I wish it was yesterday. Maybe two or three years.”In recent years, India’s been considered a possible savior for beleaguered coal miners including Peabody Energy Corp. that have suffered amid slowing Chinese demand and plummeting commodity prices. But it may be no white knight. In 2015, it increased its own production of the power-plant fuel and slashed imports in “a big way,” according to Andrew Cosgrove, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.That trend will probably accelerate in coming years as India seeks to increase its annual electricity production fourfold by 2030, to as much as 4.5 trillion kilowatt-hours from 1.1 trillion kilowatt-hours at present, Goyal said. State-owned Coal India Ltd., the world’s biggest coal producer, plans to increase annual production to about 1 billion tons in the next four years, while India’s overall domestic coal output could climb to 1.5 billion tons, he said.The company, which produces more than 80 percent of India’s coal, reported record production and dispatches during the year ended March 31, after faster land purchases and government approvals led to the opening of new mines.India is developing new shipping routes and adding railroad capacity to transport domestic coal from mining areas to coastal power plants in hopes of further reducing its reliance on foreign coal.“At the end of the day, I may only be left with imports to the extent where certain plants are designed for imported coal,” Goyal said. “Until the time I can either retrofit or replace those plants.”India’s Energy Minister Wants to Cut Coal Imports to Nothing
Commentary: IEEFA Versus the IEA FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享Independent Australia:The same claims of bad forecasts are also occasionally made about the Institute for Energy Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) — an independent group of highly experienced analysts, who argue that the coal industry is in structural decline. One way of resolving this tension is to assume that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But, of course, a far better way is to check their past predictions against observed reality and, by this measure, IEEFA is consistently very close and the IEA is somewhere out in the outer rings of Saturn.In a world that has come to depend so strongly on energy, bad forecasts carry disastrous consequences for financial markets, international relations, war and peace, employment, social planning and, of course, climate change.Which begs the question: why is the IEA so far off the mark? The answer might lie in their Coal Industry Advisory Board (CIAB), which was set up by the IEA to inform the agency about the future of the coal industry. However, rather than being made up of experts, like analysts, economists and futurists, the Coal Industry Advisory Board is made up exclusively of CEOs and very senior managers for companies that trade in coal, sometimes exclusively.The Australian coal industry has four representatives on the advisory board, of whom Greg Everett, the CEO of Sunset Power, who owns the Vales Point Power Station at Lake Macquarie, is one. Vales Point spits out about as much carbon as Jamaica.Peter Freyberg is the Head of Coal Assets at Glencore, which is the biggest thermal coal mining company in Australia. Glencore has been accused of violating Indigenous rights and poisoning rivers at the McArthur River Mine in the Northern Territory. Glencore also happens to be very good at avoiding corporate tax.James Palmer is the “Asset President, Coal” at BHP Billiton. Although BHP was the largest coal producer in Australia, BHP’s strategy is to get out of coal, making Palmer’s job very hard.The last representative is Jeyakumar Janakaraj, the CEO of an outfit you may have heard of — Adani. Adani, of course, wants to build a massive toxic coal mine in Queensland and ship it through the Great Barrier Reef, with a free water licensce in drought-stricken Queensland. Which begs the question: why does the guy who runs the company get to help write the most authoritative report in the world on the future of the coal industry? Nice work if you can get it.In defiance of the laws of thermodynamics, the information system driving decision-making around energy looks like a closed system, where the coal industry tells the IEA what it thinks demand for coal will look like in decades to come, the IEA tells decision-makers that coal will be around for decades, and the companies get to claim that the IEA supports their arguments. A generous way to look at it would be to assume that the industry’s subconscious biases are seeping into the World Energy Outlook. A more sinister view is that the industry is running a self-protection racket.You would think that Department Secretaries, the Planning and Assessment Commission and the Queensland Land Court would research who writes these reports and work out whether their claims stack up. Unfortunately, given our tendency to wrongly attach weight to opinions coming from perceived authorities, communities challenging coal, oil and gas projects have to argue why their claims are more justifiable than the World Energy Outlook.The reality is that, as IEEFA has repeatedly pointed out, coal is on the way out. The technology to power 100 per cent of the entire world with the power of the sun, the wind and the waves, is plummeting in cost and already exists today. What this means for coal-affected communities is that we deserve to be told the truth and to very quickly create a vision for the future of our communities. For financial institutions and companies related to fossil fuel companies, they need to develop a strategy to reduce their exposure to fossil fuels, starting immediately. Decision-makers need to take the WEO reports with a degree of caution. Governments at all levels need to significantly increase their ambition and action to get to a 1.5oC world. Citizens like us need to do what we do best and ramp up our efforts to force decision-makers to speed up the transition.Last year, dozens of companies and governments moved away from coal because of people-powered movements and campaigns. It is far from enough, but we are getting bigger and better at winning. It’s time to get vested interests out of energy analysis. Those who stand in the way of progress have been warned.More: The IEA’s World Energy Outlook and its coal bias
FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享S&P Global Market Intelligence ($):Colorado regulators approved an EVRAZ PLC subsidiary’s unique agreement with Xcel Energy Inc. for the steel company to have a 240-MW solar plant built on its mill property in Pueblo, Colo.Xcel Energy subsidiary Public Service Co. of Colorado on Aug. 15 applied to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for approval of a special energy services agreement and rates the utility said would enable EVRAZ to use power generated by the solar plant for its operations.EVRAZ is Xcel Energy’s largest retail electric customer in Colorado and now receives service directly through transmission lines from the Comanche Generating Station. Xcel Energy plans to close two units of the coal power plant with a total capacity of 660 MW as part of its Colorado Energy Plan.The commission on Sept. 10 approved the plan, which Xcel Energy said was essential for clearing the path for EVRAZ to build the solar plant. Allowing solar to replace coal will free up transmission capacity for the solar plant to export surplus energy and for the mill to receive power from other sources when solar output diminishes, according to Xcel Energy spokesman Mark Stutz.An as yet unnamed third-party independent power producer will build and own the solar facility for EVRAZ, and no information was available as to when the plant will be built. Details remain confidential because the EVRAZ board of directors has not yet approved the facility, Stutz said.EVRAZ said its ability to maintain stable energy costs at its Pueblo mill is critical to its decision to continue operating that facility, which employs about 1,000 workers. With the pending closure of the coal plant, EVRAZ alternatively planned to move its mill operations to the southeast U.S.More ($): Colorado approves agreement for steel mill to replace coal plant with solar Colorado regulators approve Xcel plan to power steel mill with solar
Generational shift is emerging on U.S. energy policy FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享Quartz:Younger Americans are willing to pay twice as much as their parents for clean energyResearchers at Yale University and George Mason University asked 2,000 registered US voters, and their results show generational and political divides. While 47% of respondents said they would be willing to pay more, according to the survey, support was concentrated among those under the age of 44, urban dwellers, college degree-holders, and moderate and liberal Democrats. Those unwilling to pay more were generally older, more conservative, and less educated voters, who tended not to see fossil fuel pollution as harmful, or renewables as a boost for the economy.Surveys were conducted between November 2018 and April 2019 by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.Age proved to be among the biggest divides. Millennials and GenXers were willing to dig into their wallet for the extra $22 while Baby Boomers would only pony up an average of $11. Overall, the average respondent was willing to pay $16.25 more per month for clean energy. The average monthly electricity bill in the U.S. is $117.More: Younger Americans are willing to pay twice as much as their parents for clean energy
This week’s healthy tip is to reach out to those distant branches, find the time to hang out, and shake the leaves of the family tree.With the holiday season fast approaching now is the time to start calling up the relatives and getting plans together. Forget the decorations, fruit cakes, and advertisement commercials, no matter what holiday your celebrating this winter, it is the time to assemble amongst the snowbanks and firewood, and it is the time to be together.Blood may be thicker then water, but as I seem to grow older, I see less and less of my family. Maybe that’s were the expression comes from. Because no matter the distance, the time in between, or the water that seperates, your blood and your family, the people that will always be on your side, they will always be glad to hear you are coming for a visit.Stay warm, say hello to the family for me, and keep playingBrad
Something new is coming to the Southeast this weekend. Now, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who considers running, kayaking, mountain biking, drinking beer or Standup paddleboarding new (well, maybe SUP), but throwing them all together in a multi-sport festival in North Carolina is new. The Green River Games makes its debut this weekend in and around the outdoor mecca of Saluda, NC, it what could be the next great sporting event to dominate the scene in WNC. Organizer John Grace channels the uber-popular, uber-stylish, uber-West GoPro Mountain Games (formerly the Teva Mountain Games), and hopes to craft the Green River Games into the East’s counterpart. He is well on his way with a robust lineup of races and events that will get the ball rolling and build momentum in year one.The games kick off with Friday evening with a 6k road race up Green River Cove Road (17 switchbacks!) finishing in downtown Saluda and the official Kickoff Party. Things just ramp up from there with the Oskar Blues Enduro Mountain Bike Race, Southern Raft Supply Mountain SUP Race, and Sierra Nevada Silverback on Saturday. The Silverback is the capstone race of the games, testing the skill and endurance of the area’s best athletes with an outdoor triathlon the likes of which we may never see again. It starts with a kayak run down the famous Green River Narrows, then goes right into an 8-mile mountain bike ride through the rugged Green River Game Lands, and culminates with competitors having to run the same rugged 8-mile course they just biked – all self-supported. Luckily, Saturday night is also the Green River Reggae & Beer Festival at the aptly named Party Place, so there will be time to blow off some steam. Sunday’s events include and exhibition SUP race, Liquidalogic Upper Green River Race, and Big Hungry 10K and half marathon trail races.As you can tell by the names of some of these races, there will be plenty of adult beverages on hand for both competitors and spectators. This could prove to be one of the biggest event/parties in the region this year, and for many years to come, so you’ll want to be able to say you were at the first one, even as a spectator/beer consumer. So head on down to Saluda this weekend and drink in the action at the inaugural Green River Games.Check out their website for more info on the races, parties, and events going down this weekend.View Larger Map
Now that December has finally reared its chilly head, join the Jingle Bell Run in Richmond, Virginia, this Saturday to ring in the holiday season – literally. On December 6, runners will flaunt their winter spirit through 5 kilometers of jingle-jangle fun.Richmond’s annual Jingle Bell Run has been voted “one of the Most Incredible Themed Races nationwide,” and just one look at the crowd will show you why. Forget about those nice running tights and fancy sweat-wicking shirt: Santa hats and elf costumes take the stage instead. The dress-code calls for your best holiday costume, so leave your athletic gear at home and suit up! Plus, celebrate with every step by tying jingle bells to your shoelaces and give those 3.15 miles a special soundtrack.In addition to spreading some good holiday cheer, the Jingle Bell Run has yet another good deed up its sleeve. Proceeds from the event go toward Arthritis aid, in the form of research funding, scholarships, trainers, medical fees, and public education. With a huge goal of $45,000 nationwide, every dollar makes a difference. Plus, if you raise $100 on top of your registration, you’ll walk away with both a Sport Tec wicking shirt and a coveted “Fundana”. We’re sure that the Jingle Bell Run itself is incentive enough for BRO’s , but hop on board with these extras and give the Arthritis Foundation even more of a boost! Santa’s watching…The race begins at 7 a.m. on Saturday, December 6, at Stony Point Fashion Park just outside the city. Register online anytime before race day, or on-site the morning of, for just $30. Bring the kids and your pets, too – the event is stroller- and leash-friendly, and children can run themselves for half-price. Release some cabin fever, get a head start on your New Year’s goals, or just come have fun at the Jingle Bell Run!
Florida Man takes an alligator into a liquor store. Florida Man shoots gun at hurricane. Florida Man kidnaps scientist to make his dog immortal. Florida Man tries to force KFC employee to reopen restaurant at gunpoint…If you’re not familiar with the real-life tragi-comedy that is “Florida Man,” you need to spend some time on Google and Twitter. To sum it up: any headline that begins with “Florida Man” is guaranteed to be weird AF. And the “Florida Man” phenomenon belies that fact that the Sunshine State is often the butt of the joke.I’ve certainly issued my fair share of disparaging comments about Florida over the years, but I’m here to say that I’ve had it all wrong about Florida. This place is downright magical. I’ve spent the last few days camping on a finger of sand and bugs sticking out into the Gulf of Mexico with my family and I’ve been blown away with how wild and pristine the area is. Most of my past experience with Florida has been centered around cultural standouts like Panama City and Jacksonville and I honestly had no idea there was anything to this state other than wet t-shirt contests and sub-par professional football, but let me tell you, Florida is awesome.
We spent three nights camping on Cape San Blas, which has nine miles of undeveloped beach, and spent our days paddling the warm Gulf waters and hiking around massive dunes. And we pretty much had the whole cape to ourselves. Sure, the bugs were horrendous and the alligator warnings were ubiquitous, but I like not being the apex predator in the general vicinity. It gives the whole endeavor a Jurassic Park sort of vibe and really provides perspective on your life.
After conquering the coast, we headed inland to explore the state’s natural springs. Yeah, thousands of gallons of cold, fresh water bubbles up from limestone caves creating serene pools and rivers. This is real Ponce de Leon kind of stuff, and they’re everywhere throughout the middle of the state. These pools are refreshing as hell (in case you didn’t know, Florida is f-ing hot) with incredible snorkeling, and again, thanks to the lush foliage and alligator warnings, the springs have a legit jungle vibe. Also, they tend to sprout rare inner-tube trees.
I know I’ve barely dipped my toe in the primal adventure that Florida offers (I’m lobbying to change the nickname to “The Jurassic State,”) but my interest is piqued. I really hope the melting ice caps don’t drown this Peninsula because I want to see more.
“It is truly a massive seizure,” he declared. “With that, Panama remains at the forefront of the countries in Latin America in the drug bust.” Later that month, forces backed up his claim when 50 kilos of cocaine were discovered hidden in two duffel bags inside a huge metal refrigerated box, which itself was packed around hundreds of boxes of frozen shrimp on a shipping vessel. The National Customs Authority in Puerto Balboa had received an anonymous tip about the container heading from Ecuador to Spain; an ensuing investigation into the container’s paperwork uncovered irregularities and led to the seizure. Panama forces conduct air raid Panama’s public forces did their best to keep members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from racking up frequent-flyer miles last spring. Criminals from Mexico, Colombia and Panama were busted in April as part of an elaborate drug ring that flew drugs for FARC. The ring used Panama’s Albrook Flight School as a cover for shipping money and drugs around the globe. Officials believe Colombian citizens Isaac and Felipe Mosquera led the operation that shuttled drugs for the 30th and 57th fronts of FARC. Codenamed “Pacific Corridor Operation,” the mission involved 25 simultaneous raids. It ended with 25 arrests and the confiscation of 14 planes, 15 vehicles, seven guns, 265 kilos of drugs and $16,394. However, government officials did not want the flight school to remain closed long. Panama is perilously low on skilled pilots and needs to keep the school open. First, officials were granted the use of 14 planes to assist in tracking down Mosquera and keep their engines in working order. Then, Eustacio Fabrega, Panama’s former head of civil engineering, began lobbying for the Civil Aviation Authority to reopen the school to foster a legitimate pipeline of pilots. National police crack down on smugglers Panama’s National Police also continued amassing victories in the war on drugs. The Panamanian National Border Service (Senafront) delivered a blow in November when it destroyed a FARC jungle camp in the remote community of Madugandí, in the province of Darién. Two alleged FARC members also were arrested by Panamanian security forces, which are attempting to stop the flow of drugs coming in across the border from neighboring Colombia. In early October, police officers pulled over a delivery truck loaded with narcotics and fruit in the town of Yaviza. A search of the vehicle yielded 50 packages of cocaine hidden among boxes of plantains and cassavas. Two adults and a youth were arrested in the truck destined for the public market in Panama City. But the fruit truck was not the only big vehicle bust. A National Police cruiser spooked four suspects in a dark-colored Nissan Patrol SUV along the southern corridor of Don Bosco, causing the truck to make several reckless moves through traffic before getting stuck in a drainage ditch. The suspects fled on foot and remain at large, but several large bags of marijuana were found, along with an AK-47 assault rifle and rounds of live ammunition. Smugglers also have turned to horses to move drugs. Instead of loading the animals with gold to be carried across the isthmus as Spanish conquistadors did more than five centuries ago, drug dealers have utilized packs of horses to smuggle narcotics through rural areas of Panama. The State Border Service, however, has been keen on the trend and recently busted a Colombian man with four hourses loaded with 14 sacks containing more than 340 kilograms of cocaine in Molilla, in Kuna Yala. Also inside the saddlebags were 28 rounds for a 9mm pistol, two radios, two cellphones and four SIM cards for the phones. “In one year, Panama catches well over 75 tons,” Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli recently told reporters. “And every ounce of cocaine we seize means less drugs and less crime in the streets of the United States.” For Panama, 2011 was a banner year in its war on drugs. In early December, the country cemented 12 months of combating smugglers and cartels by creating a bilateral commission with the United States to combat drug trafficking and money laundering. Panamanian Foreign Minister Roberto Henríquez announced the commission’s formation following a summit with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The commission will be funded with $52 million raised from auctioning the gold confiscated from a Panamanian firm recently accused of money laundering and indicted in the United States as the focal point of the “Speed Joyeros” case. Officials said 70 percent of the $52 million will go directly to combat drug trafficking and money laundering in Panama. “The governments of Panama and the United States maintain a close relationship and are working in coordination to implement plans and programs aimed at fighting organized crime, terrorism and narcotics trafficking,” Henríquez said in a statement. Officials ring in 2011 with drug bust The year’s battle against drug cartels began Jan. 1 when a 32-foot boat with 12 fuel tanks and nearly 1,025 kilograms of cocaine was confiscated in the province of Colón. The bust was a collaborative effort between the Anti-Drug Operations Tactical Unit and the Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office. One of the most successful ways to disrupt drug trafficking through the Panama was by making multiple big busts involving boats and cargo shipments along shorelines. Panama’s National Naval Air Service (SENAN) made a huge bust on July 8 when it intercepted and searched a 61-foot sailboat off the Atlantic port city of Colón. Buried in the steel hull of the U.S.-registered Intaka were 14 55-gallon drums of liquid cocaine. The force arrested the ship’s Spanish captain and a Colombian woman aboard the vessel. The Intaka had sailed from the Caribbean port of Cartagena, Colombia, and was en route to Honduras to deliver its three-ton payload. SENAN had plenty of big drug busts left in the calendar year. On June 18, the force recovered 452 kilos of marijuana that had been abandoned in a small vessel by fleeing drug traffickers. The stash was found along the beach in the Panamanian province of Darién, on the Pacific coast. Four drug runners had attempted to bring the marijuana into Panama but fled, hiding the drugs and never reaching the shore. “Citizen input will help to keep the miscreants from entering their communities, and convincing people to support them with the movement of drugs,” Panama’s minister of public security, José Raúl Mulino, told reporters. “If we do not eradicate the drug trade, it won’t help at all if the government invests money for new police officers, vehicles, aircraft, trucks, boats, police stations and naval air stations.” On July 4, SENAN — in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard — boarded the Fifita 500 off the Caribbean coast of Panama. Inside, they found 1.8 tons of cocaine. The busting of the Cook Islands-registered vessel allowed Mulino to hail the victory as another benchmark in his country’s war on drugs. By Dialogo January 03, 2012
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos insisted that the peace negotiations that will begin in October with the communist guerrillas of the FARC be based on realistic facts, and dismissed a ceasefire until the process is completed. The president rejected the FARC’s approach of ordering a ceasefire at the start of the talks on October 8 in Oslo, arguing, “that if they do it, they will require us to do it.” “It is normal, but that is not feasible, not realistic. They can ask whatever they want, but then for us to accept it is a long stretch,” he pointed out. The president made these remarks in several interviews and reiterated them after a meeting with at least 50 generals of the Army, Air Force and Navy admirals (Navy) at Fort Tolemaida (southwest of Bogotá), where they train special forces. “It must be a serious roundtable, realistic and effective. If we hear proposals that are not realistic, then the process will not be effective,” Santos said. He added that he asked the military, “to step up their actions. There will not be any type of ceasefire here, there will not be anything until we reach the final agreement, that is to be very clear,” he warned. “Since it takes two to talk, if there is no progress, we will simply get up and everything will remain the same. We will not fall into the trap of delaying negotiations indefinitely. If there’s a will, I really think we can reach the agreement in months,” he added. Santos also noted that the FARC and the government would be the only state representatives at the negotiating table, because “this is a direct negotiation, without intermediaries, without mediators”. On the other hand, Santos recognized the statement from the spokesmen for the FARC, in Havana, that the group had stopped kidnapping. “They have said they have not returned to kidnapping and have repeated it on many occasions. And the truth is that I have not had military intelligence information in the recent past of kidnappings by the FARC,” he noted. The FARC’s statement on September 6 caused outrage among relatives of hostages, who assure their family members are held by the insurgent group, and in turn asked for a seat at the negotiating table. Clara Rojas, director of the NGO País Libre, which assists families of the abducted, expressed her “dismay” at the statement. “I am almost speechless. This is not an answer for all these families. I am confident that they will reconsider. It can be that their commanders are not telling them the whole truth,” pointed out Rojas, herself kidnapped in 2002 along with former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, and released in 2008. By Dialogo September 10, 2012