US Plans First New Coal-Fired Power Plant Since 2013 in Alaska
Terra Energy Center is pouring $1 billion into a deal for a planned coal project in Alaska, marking the first investment in new US coal power in more than a decade.
The in-principal agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries Power Systems for an order of power-plant boilers was described in a US Interior Department fact sheet Monday. The transaction is one of several that advanced during talks at the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo this weekend.
Terra Energy Center’s plan represents a striking reversal for the US coal industry. Coal once supplied more than half of the nation’s electricity, but that figure has been steadily declining and now stands at about 16%. The shift came as utilities turned to cheaper and cleaner power sources, including natural gas and renewables, in an effort to rein in climate change.
But US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the country to burn more coal, especially with electricity demand set to surge as power-hungry data centers run artificial intelligence. The move is part of Trump’s expansive plan to reshape the US energy landscape, promoting fossil fuels over intermittent renewables.
While Trump’s efforts to revive coal in his first term had little impact, he’s having more success since returning to the White House last year. The US Energy Department has also ordered five coal plants that were set to retire to remain in service, and has indicated that it may issue similar orders to other sites that are preparing to shut down.
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The Cost of Transporting Coal to the U.S. Electric Power Sector Fell Again in 2024
We released new data on the electric power sector’s coal transportation costs. The release incorporates final data for 2024 from Form EIA-923, which we collect from electric power plant owners and operators. The data release includes tables with costs, in nominal and real (2024) dollars, across regions, states, and modes of transportation.
Data Highlights
After accounting for inflation, the average cost of transporting coal to the electric power sector in the United States decreased from $19.23 per ton in 2023 to $17.55 per ton in 2024 (in 2024 dollars). In nominal terms, the cost fell from $18.77 in 2023 to $17.55 in 2024.
The inflation-adjusted average cost of transporting coal by truck and waterway to the electric power sector increased in 2024.
On a regional basis, marginal increases and decreases in prices were mixed across modes of transport and across states and coal supply. Overall, for prices reported in the table (not withheld for confidentiality reasons), the inflation-adjusted average cost of rail transport increased in the Uinta Basin but declined in the Powder River Basin, Illinois Basin, and Appalachia regions. By truck and waterway, the inflation-adjusted average costs increased in all cases except for a slight decrease in trucking costs in Northern Appalachia.
There were a few cases of more sizable price changes. For example:
The cost of rail transport from the Northern Appalachia Coal Basin to West Virginia declined in real terms from $16.78 in 2023 to $9.87 in 2024. This increase is similar in size to an inflation-adjusted decline in the cost of rail transport within West Virginia ($9.21 in 2024 vs. $15.92 in 2023).
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West Virginia Woman Honored for 50-Year Mining Career
In late February, Marie Jefferson officially surpassed 50 years of working as a coal miner at the Marion County mine in Metz, West Virginia.
Born in Carolina, West Virginia, Jefferson came back home from New York to the Mountain State with her three kids, looking for a job to support her and her family. After hearing that the mine was hiring women, she applied.
12 News caught up with Jefferson early Friday morning after she had finished a midnight shift underground.
“I had to work anyway, somewhere. So, I might as well have worked here. Evidently, I did okay because I’m still here,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson was the first woman, and the first black woman, to work at the mine in Metz. Fifty years later, she’s looking to keep busy. In fact, 12 News was specifically told by her coworkers not to bring up retirement, with Jefferson saying she doesn’t see herself slowing down despite being 83 years old.
“Since I’m going to have to work, it seems like that’s what I want to do,” Jefferson said. “Because grandpa used to say, ‘idle hands comes to no good’ in other words. So, I try to keep myself busy.”
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Thanks to Trump, We're Protecting Montana's Mines
Montana’s mining industry is critically important to not only our state but the country. Hard rock mining for critical minerals like copper, platinum, palladium, and silver provides more than 18,000 good-paying jobs for Montanans, adds nearly $430 million to the state’s economy and provides an essential tax base for our local communities.
In addition, Montana’s coal mines employ nearly 1,000 with a combined payroll of $100 million and provide $200 million in state and local taxes and royalties to Montana’s communities.
For four years, however, Joe Biden’s administration waged a relentless war on Montana’s miners, threatening their livelihood and with it, the fabric of their communities.
His administration didn’t care whether it was coal at Bull Mountains or palladium at Stillwater. Every action his administration took over four years related to mining was hostile and designed to put Montana’s mines out of business, all because he refused to side with Montana and stand up to those who attacked us.
When it came to coal, the Biden administration adopted the agenda of radical left-wing environmentalists and his BLM and EPA used it as the basis for every rule and regulation it issued. As a result, the Biden administration will likely go down as the most anti-coal and anti-Montana administration in history.
Thankfully, President Trump had enough.
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A Global Energy Security Shock
The conflict in Iran, which has now spread across much of the Middle East, is roiling energy markets. Not only has Iran in effect closed the Straits of Hormuz but oil and natural gas production across the region is coming to a standstill.
Qatar, the world’s second largest exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG), has halted LNG production following Iranian drone strikes leaving a yawning gulf in global supply. Some 70% of Qatari LNG is exported to Asia and 25% to Europe. The conflict and its impact on global energy flows has sent natural gas prices across Asia and Europe soaring. The European LNG benchmark has jumped more than 70% and the Northeast Asian benchmark has also jumped, hitting a one-year high.
For energy markets, there are echoes of the impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That shock ushered in abrupt reevaluation of and re-embrace of the importance of energy security. And the same may be happening today. Just how long this conflict lasts and how disruptive it becomes are frightening questions with the war in Ukraine now in its 5th horrifying year.
Reinforcing the Value of Coal
As we saw in 2022, when energy security reemerges as the critical consideration, policymakers and markets turn to coal. To that point, Javier Blas, Bloomberg’s commodity and energy columnist, tweeted, “Side comment post-Qatar LNG shutdown: Asian countries got a huge reminder today of the advantages of coal for baseload electricity. Maybe also about the advantages of renewables. But a lot more about coal. Today's event will have important policy implications.”
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