Arizona Public Service Signs Agreement That Could Extend Four Corners Coal Power Plant Use Until 2038
Arizona Public Service has taken steps that could keep its last operating coal power plant running for the next 12 years.
APS says it signed a confidential agreement in September with Navajo Transitional Energy Company that could allow it to keep operating the Four Corners Power Plant until 2038.
APS’s current energy resource plan anticipated pulling out of the plant in 2031.
The Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington, Arizona.
Photo: Jon Austria, Albuquerque Journal
But in a statement to KJZZ, an APS spokesperson says the utility determined operating the plant beyond that deadline would be beneficial and lower customer costs.
APS is facing unprecedented energy demand growth, largely due to data centers. It will file an updated resource plan with the state’s utility regulator at the end of the month.
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Western Kentucky Utility Projects Keeping its Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants Beyond 2050
An electric utility serving Western Kentucky counties is telling the state regulator it anticipates keeping its existing coal-fired and natural gas-fired power plants open beyond 2050, a projection amid state and federal efforts seeking to boost fossil fuel-fired power.
On Tuesday, Owensboro-based Big Rivers Electric Corporation filed a new integrated resource plan before the Kentucky Public Service Commission, detailing the utility’s future plans for power plants, electricity transmission infrastructure and the direction of its future electricity demand.
Such plans are required to be filed by Kentucky electric utilities before the commission every few years, detailing how the utility will provide an “adequate and reliable” supply of electricity to meet future consumer and industrial demands at the “lowest possible cost” generally at least over a 15-year outlook.
Big Rivers Electric Corporation’s newest plan projects a future where, instead of retiring and replacing its existing fossil fuel-fired fleet, it instead makes “reliability” investments into its 40-year-old coal-fired D.B. Wilson Generating Station in Ohio County and its natural gas-fired turbines at its Robert D. Green Generating Station in Webster County.
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U.S. Coal Exports Rise 13.3% in Second Quarter, EIA Reports
U.S. coal exports increased in the second quarter of 2026, led by stronger steam coal shipments, according to the Energy Information Administration’s newly released Quarterly Coal Report.
Exports totaled 26.8 million short tons, up 13.3% from the first quarter. Steam coal exports climbed 25.1% to 13 million short tons, while metallurgical coal exports increased 4.2% to 13.9 million short tons. The average export price was $110.68 per short ton.
Domestic coal production totaled 125.4 million short tons, down 4.9% from the preceding quarter and 2.2% from the second quarter of 2025. Western production accounted for approximately 49.2% of the national total.
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Coal Ash Rare Earth Recovery Company Signs Deal to Join U.S. Critical Minerals Platform
Coal ash’s potential as a domestic source of critical minerals is central to a proposed transaction involving Pennsylvania-based Winner Water Services.
Special Project Delivery announced October 5 that it signed a business combination agreement with Winner Water, which has developed a process to recover rare earth elements, scandium and alumina from coal ash impoundments.
The technology targets materials left behind after coal combustion, offering an opportunity to recover valuable minerals from existing deposits.
Winner operates a pilot plant in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and is building a rare earth extraction demonstration facility at the National Carbon Capture Center in Wilsonville, Alabama. Groundbreaking took place in August.
According to the announcement, Winner and its research partners have received six consecutive Department of Energy and Department of Defense awards totaling $53 million over the past decade.
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Leaders in Mining Excellence Honored by NMA, Federal Agencies
The National Mining Association (NMA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will today honor outstanding achievements in mine safety, technology, reclamation and stewardship.
Rich Nolan, NMA President and CEO
Safety
The NMA's Sentinels of Safety Award recognizes coal and mineral mining operations in 10 categories for recording the most hours in a calendar year without a single lost-time injury. A minimum of 4,000 hours is required for award consideration. The award categories reflect the safety accomplishments of both small and large mines.
Twenty American mining operations - six coal mines and 14 mineral/metal mines - will be honored for their extraordinary safety performance in 2025.
"Safety is the foundation on which our industry stands," said Rich Nolan, NMA president and CEO. "With mineral, material and electricity demand all rapidly growing, American economic and national security count on our ability to safely and responsibly mine. These winners are at the leading edge of today's modern, dynamic and safe mining industry that is working to meet the demands of the most materials and energy intensive period in American history."
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