Older generations fondly remember watching Felix Unger and Oscar Madison share a New York City apartment during the five-season run of “The Odd Couple” in the 1970s. Their continual fights based on their “opposites-don’t-attract” mentality were entertaining – but they also were predictive, if one imagines Felix as coal and… Read More
In the coal industry, from a power plant perspective, improving efficiency is the name of the game. In the U.S., coal plants just aren’t being built anymore. The only new coal plant under construction currently is the Kemper County energy facility in Mississippi, originally slated to be completed this past… Read More
When it comes to coal power plants, efficiency is the name of the game. Ultimately, more efficiency means fewer bottom-line costs. Higher efficiency ratings mean that coal is more competitive against natural gas and renewables. All other things considered equal, pursuing higher efficiency can be one of the best decisions… Read More
Last fall, a legal battle was initiated when a unit of Marathon Petroleum Corp. sued BP subsidiaries over alleged “shoddy maintenance,” as reported by Industry Week. The charges? According to Marathon, BP failed to adequately maintain and repair a refinery in Texas City before selling it to Marathon for $2.5… Read More
In 2016, according to the Energy Information Administration, something significant happened in the domestic energy industry: for most of last year, natural gas became the number one source for electricity generation in the U.S. – ahead of coal. This was not unforeseen; experts have been predicting that natural gas would… Read More
When failures happen in production facilities, a business can suffer. Each hour that a critical piece of equipment is out of service is an hour of lost revenue and dissatisfied customers. For that reason, speed is of the essence when it comes to industrial equipment repair – as it was… Read More
The Clean Power Plan (CPP), the ambitious and far-reaching plan created by the Obama administration, may not have long to live. During his campaign, Donald Trump vowed to “scrap” the CPP. His nominee for the head of the EPA, Scott Pruitt, is pro-fossil fuel and anti-regulation. And the Supreme Court… Read More
Since the election last November, everyone in the energy sector has wondered what changes will impact industry under a new Trump administration. Earlier, we wrote about where the coal industry will go under President Trump. The verdict was clear: even with a pro-coal mindset, there probably isn’t a lot President… Read More
