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Houston, 10 July 2010

Tougher US air regulations that hover over the utility market place are pitting the fossil fuels against one another. Environmental disasters are furthermore compounding the issue and forcing coal and natural gas to square off. The battle has begun: The natural gas industry is saying that new exploratory technologies are allowing non-traditional forms to be discovered safely -- at levels that increase the supplies for decades to come. Coal representatives are responding that coal still provides twice the electricity of other fuels and that it will remain comparatively inexpensive -- and become much cleaner.

"Coal is providing real jobs, real economic opportunity and affordable and secure energy," says Hal Quinn, chief executive of the National Mining Association in Washington. Coal will continue to provide the preponderance of fuel needed to make power, he adds, noting that it will continue done at a "fraction of the cost" of the natural gas -- a price that will remain "flat" until 2035.

Until the BP oil spill, the natural gas sector had been on a roll having been given greater drilling rights in the coastal regions. Even though the public perception of the industry has been altered, its advocates are still emphasizing that natural gas releases about half the greenhouse gas emissions of coal. They are also citing the Congressional Research Service that is saying if older coal-fired plants were replaced with natural gas facilities then 20 percent fewer heat-trapping emissions would be released.

Coal now provides about half of the fuel used by the country's electric generators while natural gas supplies about 20 percent of it.

Lives at risk from Con-Dem attacks

Sunday 27 June 2010by John Millington in Blackpool
NUM conference: Britain's miners backed clean coal technology while opposing government plans to water down health and safety laws at the union's biennial conference on Saturday.

Delegates tackled a range of issues including the environment, economic recovery and solidarity with persecuted miners across the world.

But the Con-Dem government's plans to dilute health and safety legislation topped the agenda, with miners revealing that the industry has become more dangerous in the last few years.

NUM North East area executive member David Hopper said everyone had the right to go to work and come back safely.

"The increase in fatalities is an indictment of private industry," he said.

"Nationalisation was not the utopia that our forefathers thought it would be but it was a damn sight better than this."

Calling for a tightening of corporate manslaughter laws, Mr Hopper said firms only get fined a few thousand pounds for any wrongdoing.

NUM Yorkshire delegate Keith Hartshorne gave a personal account of recently losing two colleagues at his colliery, describing the two separate incidents as "dates that will be forever etched in my memory."

Mr Hartshorne drew delegates' attention to seven deaths in three years across the industry.

He said miners were working under "tremendous pressure" from the company but also from having to support a family in times of recession.

"They know once the pit goes, that's it," said Mr Hartshorne remarking on the lack of equivalent jobs in the area.

NUM vice-president Keith Stanley said the Health and Safety Executive had been instructed by the coalition government to only enact new safety measures in mines if they could find others to take away.

Delegates also agreed to lobby hard for clean coal technology, pointing out that Britain imports 40 million tons of coal from abroad which help to generate 50 per cent of the country's energy output at peak times.

Moving the successful motion for more public investment in carbon capture, Scottish delegate William Bingus said: "Scotland has huge potential for carbon storage.

"Carbon capture ticks all the boxes environmentally and gives us security of supply utilising indigenous coal reserves."

'We should use our coal'

WILL our planet become greener in the next 25 years?

Yes, but only if the world develops Clean Coal Technology (CCT), otherwise no gains will be made.

In 1983, a year before the miners' strike, 50 million tonnes of coal was burned in the UK.

We then closed 98 per cent of our coal mines.

In 2009, 54 million tonnes of imported coal were burned in the UK.

In the next 25 years that coal burn will not change unless you build up to 14 nuclear power stations.

Coal burn in the world in the next 15 to 25 years will triple from 4 billion tonnes per year to 12 billion tonnes with the advances in China, India, Eastern Europe and USA.

Wind generation will never save Wales, the UK or the world. But we in Wales and the UK must develop tidal power. We are an island with two tides every day — reliable, not like wind.

Let's get back to coal.

Wales has the most diverse coal reserves in the UK — shallow reserves you can mine with drift mining not deep shafts.

In last 200 years Wales and the UK has only mined 20 per cent of our coal reserves.

Corus Port Talbot is looking at the massive Margam reserves beneath it. Aberpegwm and Unity coal mines are working and developing the 40 million tonnes in the Glynneath valley.

There are hundreds of millions of tonnes left in Wales alone.

First, we must convince the countries of the world to concentrate and develop their own energy reserve in their own countries, whatever they may be.

The last two wars we have been involved in have been over energy of other countries (Falklands and Gulf). This must stop. We must maximise our own energy reserves.

Let me end on a few points.

Wales and the UK has coal reserves for 100 years at least. We need this energy. We also need these jobs. Think of the jobs in coal mining.

Yes, coal miners have highly skilled jobs but also there are electricians, fitters, mechanics, welders, carpenters, surveyors, operators and many, many more skills and opportunities for our young people.

Just think of it. Thirty new coal mines producing 30 million tonnes of Wales and the UK coal with 30,000 new skilled jobs. What a boost to the economy and energy security of Wales. I would expect our Government to insist on part or full ownership of this industry.

And, to the politicians of Wales and the UK, stop chasing votes. We will be using 50,000,000 tonnes of coal for the next 25 years at least — let's make it our coal with our workers.

Stop fiddling while Rome burns.

Tyrone O'Sullivan, Tower Colliery workers' leader

Bad news for investors

14/5/10
UK Coal heaped more bad news on investors today, announcing a 41% decline in first-quarter output to one million tonnes, for which it yet again pinned the blame on the delayed start to the new face at Daw Mill in the West Midlands.

Britain's biggest coalminer said it had at last started upping output at Daw Mill at the end of April, and that its new seams at Kellingley and Thoresby were producing in line with expectations.

UK Coal told shareholders that its site at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire mined the last of its coal on Tuesday, and is “now starting the closure process”.

The company admitted that its surface mine production had been hit by the snow and freezing weather at the start of the year, but added that “production is now recovering with the improvement in conditions”.

It said it was still talking to Hargreaves Services, which carries out support services for the energy industry, about a merger, but warned: “The matter remains at an early stage and we would continue to stress that there is no certainty that a transaction will result.”

Hargreaves bought UK Coal's Maltby deep coal mine in South Yorkshire in 2007, and has since looked to develop the relationship into a full-blown merger.

Bosses failed on Safety

The bosses of UK Coal today had their salaries frozen and bonuses cut in response to the death of two miners at two of the firm's sites last year.

Chief executive Jon Lloyd had his £375,000 pay frozen, as did chairman David Jones who is on £150,000, and finance director David Brocksom, who earns £235,000.

Lloyd and Brocksom's bonuses were also cut by 20% and 14% respectively to £36,000 and £21,000.

Lloyd today said the move was “quite right” as one of the bonus targets was safety.

Two miners were killed at UK Coal mines in July and October of last year, with one of the accidents due to suspected machinery failure.

Britain's biggest coal miner admitted its losses in 2009 spiralled to £129.1 million, up from £15.6 million the previous year, because of low coal prices and reduced productivity.

It said “geological issues” at each of its deep mines meant production fell to 7 million tonnes, from 7.9 million tonnes in 2008.

UK Coal admitted it had struggled with “equipment failure and unreliability” in the fourth quarter, which Lloyd said had forced the firm to spend “tens of millions” on new machinery.

The business was hit by delays opening a coalface at Daw Mill in the West Midlands, but Lloyd said that site, as well as new seams at mines in Kellingley and Thoresby, would be in full production within a month.

The miner said new, long-term supply contracts and a major new customer, Scottish and Southern Energy, would mean it could offer better news to shareholders this year.

The shares slipped 1p to 55.5p.

Funding for a proposed new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth.

8 March 2010
Energy giant E.O.N has refused to deny fresh claims it will receive Government funding for a proposed new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth.

Despite shelving its plans for the site on Medway’s Hoo Peninsula until at least 2012, the German firm is still in the running to receive public cash to develop technology for storing harmful carbon dioxide emissions.

And according to a report in the Financial Times, Kingsnorth is also on the verge of being awarded a figure “in the low tens of millions of pounds” to draw up detailed plans for the technology first.

The expected announcement comes as a blow to environmentalists who believed E.ON had given up on coal last October, when the firm announced it was delaying the plans due to a lack of demand for electricity in the recession.

According to the FT, the announcement of the funding could be made by Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband as early as this week.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is seen as essential if the country wishes to continue burning coal for electricity while meeting government targets on greenhouse gas emissions.


“But there’s also the issue that no-one knows how much CCS technology will cost or what difficulties may arise.
The other firm rumoured to be receiving funding for its CCS plans is Scottish Power – owned by Iberdrola of Spain – for its Longannet plant in Fife, Scotland.

Meanwhile, E.ON announced this week that it had finalised an environmental scoping report for a new pipeline beneath Medway capable of carrying 24 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year to the North Sea gas fields.

The firm believes the structure could cope with emissions from two Kingsnorth-sized power stations and three smaller gas-fired ones.

A planning application is expected to be submitted by the end of the year, with a series of public exhibitions due to be held across the Hoo Peninsula from April 26

Miners' solicitors bombard government with FoI requests

Thursday 18 February 2010 by James Dean


The government has been overloaded with freedom of information (FoI) requests made by solicitors acting for former coal miners ahead of the first coordinated negligence action for alleged under-settlement of government compensation claims.

In a letter to coalfield communities MPs, seen by the Gazette, junior energy minister David Kidney says that the volume of FoI requests for claim files and other information submitted to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is so high that the department is not meeting its statutory 20-day deadline for responding.

The letter, sent at the end of January, also reveals that John Mann, Labour MP for Bassetlaw, who is coordinating the action, has asked Kidney for ‘assurances about the extent of [the DECC’s] co-operation with these cases.’

Mann told the Gazette this week that more than one legal adviser is being investigated before the case is lodged with the court.

Mann alleges that the miners bringing the action received less compensation than they were due because their original solicitors and claims handlers failed to lodge claims for a potentially lucrative type of damages.

He alleges that thousands of former miners across the UK are collectively owed hundreds of millions of pounds for under-settled claims – far more than they are owed for fees that some legal advisers inappropriately deducted from compensation awards.

Both Mann and David Anderson, Labour MP for Blaydon, have called for the DECC to conduct a full investigation into under-­settlement, but the department has so far declined to do so.

Energy company claims 'significant' methane finds in Cheshire

February 17, 2010

An energy company believes there are large reserves of methane gas under the North West after carrying out tests on old coal seams in Cheshire.

IGas Energy, which has a pilot well head at Doe Green near Warrington, says the discovery could provide enough gas to power 1,200 homes.

The company has drilled at another site in Ellesmere Port, where it believes there could be enough gas for 50,000 homes.

Based on the work it has carried out so far, the company believes there could be “significant” quantities of shale gas extending across 300,000 acres of the North West.

IGas has extraction licences on underground coal seams stretching from the western fringes of Greater Manchester to North Wales.

The company is producing gas at Doe Green and selling electricity through on-site generation, the first time this has been done with coal bed methane (CBM) in the UK. The company says that production rates indicate that the operation will be commercially viable.

Andrew Austin, IGas's chief executive, said: "This continuing work on understanding the full potential of our acreage to deliver gas once again gives us greater confidence in the resources we hold. The potential of delivering shale gas is particularly exciting, as this sector has seen significant growth in North America and increased interest across continental Europe."

Austin said data gathered so far confirmed that IGas had enough capacity to supply electricity to around seven per cent of all UK households for 15 years.

IGas argues that CBM and other unconventional gas "provides a secure home-grown resource which could make a significant contribution to UK gas consumption”.

BBCNewsnight 3 February 2010 Clean Coal Technoligy & Hatfield Colliery

Moth ball ageing power stations

18 January 2010
Ageing coal-fired power stations should be exempted from environmental regulations and kept open to stop the lights from going out, the chief executive of E.ON UK has urged the government.
Paul Golby told the Guardian that some of the coal and oil-fired plants due to close this decade because of European pollution regulations should remain operational and ready to come online during periods of peak demand such as those experienced in recent weeks. The Guardian revealed this month that almost 100 large power users had to switch to alternative sources when National Grid triggered clauses in their interruptible supply contracts.

"Given that the issue we are trying to grapple with is climate change, there is a question mark over keeping one or two of these oil or coal fired plants mothballed to secure supplies for a few days per year when we get these conditions," Golby said.

"It might be a small economic and carbon premium worth paying for security of supply and getting us through this transition to a low-carbon energy system. It's something we have talked to the government about."

Golby's view is privately supported by many UK power station operators who fear a looming energy gap in a few years when old coal and nuclear plants have been closed but new reactors, clean coal plants and wind farms have not been built.

The idea puts the energy industry on a collision course with environmentalists, who are vehemently opposed to any continued use of coal in the energy mix. Coal plants emit about twice as much carbon as equivalent gas plants. E.ON became synonymous among environmentalists as a supporter of the fossil fuel after it made the first application in decades to build a new coal plant in the UK, at Kingsnorth in Kent.

A spokesman for Friends of the Earth said: "E.ON has got an agenda trying to keep as much as coal open as possible."

The pressure group said that power supply could be met by more micro-generation, such as solar panels, by energy efficiency, combined heat and power plants and more gas plants.

Jim Footner from Greenpeace added: "This is yet more evidence that E.ON wants to carry on with business as usual whatever the cost to the climate. E.ON needs to stop changing its story and get on with building the clean energy future that Britain needs."

Golby warned that as more wind farms are built, more back-up generation will be needed for when the wind does not blow, particularly during cold weather. E.ON's UK wind farms operated at only 16% capacity on average during this month's cold snap.

The E.ON UK chief said it was not economic to build new plants which would only be used occasionally but admitted that the plan would antagonise some environmentalists. "There is bound to be an environmental emotional response I guess. But if that was the only way that this quantity of wind can be built maybe it's a price that may be worth paying."

26 December 2009

RUSSIA & UKRAINE FEAR GAS PROBLEMS
Russia has scrapped January oil exports via Ukrainian ports and also said it fears Ukraine will have problems paying for its gas, a sign of a possible repeat of New Year gas rows which have led to supply cuts in Europe.

Europe, which receives 25 percent of gas from Russia, was left short of supplies in January 2006 and 2009 because of pricing rows between Moscow and Kiev.

Another key transit state, Belarus, cut Russian oil flows to Europe in January 2007, also due to a pricing row, which further undermined the image of Russia, the world's largest oil and gas producer, as a reliable energy supplier.

Analysts have said Moscow is unlikely to be tough on Kiev this year ahead of Ukraine's presidential election in January in the hope Ukraine chooses a relatively pro-Russian leader.

Ukraine has been regularly paying its gas bills this year, but the December bill, due before Jan 11, was expected to soar to billion from 0 million in November due to low temperatures.

However, despite the expected rise in cold weather demand, Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) said on Friday Ukraine had cut gas purchases in recent days.

"We assess the situation with payments for Russian natural gas deliveries in December as very alarming," Gazprom's chief executive Alexei Miller told state television.

"In the middle of December, there was a trend of a reduction of gas off-take which confirms that Ukraine is facing serious difficulties with (future) gas payments," Miller said.

NO CRUDE FOR YUZHNY

Russia ships 80 percent of its gas transit to Europe via the territory of Ukraine while the rest goes via Belarus.

Russian oil transits via Ukraine are less big but are still very important for the Mediterranean markets.

Traders said on Friday Russia's pipeline monopoly Transneft told oil firms to scrap oil export plans via Ukraine's Black Sea port of Yuzhny and gave no reason for the move.

"All volumes have been taken away. There will be no supplies in January (from Yuzhny)," said one trader, who asked not to be named because he is not allowed to comment on the issue.

"It will become clear on Monday what options will be proposed (by Transneft)," said another trader.

Oil firms will have to divert some 0.5 million tonnes of crude meant for Yuzhny to other destinations - such as Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk or Primorsk on the Baltic.

Affected firms will include Rosneft (ROSN.MM), TNK-BP (TNBPI.RTS) and Tatneft. One cargo was already sold to Morgan Stanley for Jan 8-12 delivery and rerouting it to another port will cause big logistical problems, traders said.

Yuzhny remains the last Ukrainian port through which Russia sends transit crude to the West after it stopped exporting crude via another outlet - Odessa - earlier this year. In 2008, Odessa and Yuzhny sent over 15 million tonnes of Russian transit crude - enough to feed a large refinery for a year.

Blow for clean coal as UN shuts it out of emissions trading

By Rowena Mason in Copenhagen
Published: 6:07PM GMT 16 Dec 2009

The clean-coal industry has been shut out of the global emissions trading scheme at the Copenhagen climate change talks, dealing a blow to the UK, US and Australia.

The current Kingsnorth Power Station in Kent, that was to become a flagship clean coal station. Photo: PA The three Western countries and Saudi Arabia had strongly argued that advanced new clean-coal plants, which trap emissions underground, ought to earn credits for being a low-carbon source of energy.

But a United Nations committee decided not to include the industry in its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which rewards companies that invest in green energy.


Ed Miliband, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, is a strong supporter of the fledgling technology, which attempts to siphon off carbon dioxide when coal is burnt and pump it into geological formations such as disused gas fields.

The UK Government has committed to funding four £1bn trial carbon-capture and storage plants, with the first due to be completed either by Scottish Power in 2014 or by E.ON in 2016.

It is understood that Brazil was largely responsible for blocking the inclusion of carbon capture and storage on the list of approved clean energy over concerns about “the long-term liability for the storage site, including liability for any seepage”.

More work will be done on the proposal before the next summit to be held in Mexico next year and South Africa in 2011.

The Clean Development Mechanism – where polluting companies can buy carbon allowances from approved renewable energy projects in the developing world – has come under heavy criticism at the summit.

A new report by Point Carbon showed this week that inadequate project preparation means almost one third of all the projects under the United Nations’ carbon-trading system fail to deliver any benefits.

The UN last week banned several Chinese wind farms from participating in the scheme, having temporarily suspended the whole country, over fears they had been playing the system.


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Indonesia's coal rush

Dec 10th 2009 | JAKARTA
From The Economist print edition

Rising demand from China and India is stoking Indonesia’s exports of coal


FOR power stations on the coast of China, it is often cheaper to import coal by sea from Indonesia than from mines in the interior. The same goes for many Indian consumers. Japan and South Korea, both big importers, are also close—putting Indonesia at the heart of an Asian coal boom.

The majority of electricity in China, India and several other Asian countries comes from burning coal. Demand for the stuff has grown rapidly, along with the region’s economies. It is likely to continue to do so, despite environmental concerns, because coal is abundant and cheap. Last month the International Energy Agency predicted global demand for coal would increase by 1.9% a year until 2015, outpacing all other fossil fuels except natural gas.

Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal for power plants (Australia ships more of the sort used in steel production). Local mining firms are scrambling to expand; foreign investors are keen to help them. Last year, when coal prices were at their height, several local firms listed on Jakarta’s stockmarket. This year several have issued bonds. In September China Investment Corporation, China’s main sovereign-wealth fund, lent $1.9 billion to Bumi Resources, Indonesia’s biggest coal-mining firm. Recapital, a local investment bank, is seeking to buy Berau Coal, the fifth-biggest local miner. Alex Wood, who runs AWR Lloyd, an energy consultancy, expects more deals as coal-hungry Chinese and Indian firms try to secure supplies.

Indonesia’s production this year is forecast to be around 230m tonnes. Roughly 190m tonnes of that are exported. But Indonesia has coal-fired power stations under construction that will absorb an extra 20m tonnes or so of coal by 2011, points out Adam Worthington, a commodities analyst at Macquarie Securities. The government says it might cap exports at 150m tonnes in future.

Bumi hopes to double its output by 2012 to 100m tonnes. Other local firms also have big expansion plans. But building a new coal mine and the accompanying infrastructure can take years, says Virach Makaranithiroj, director of investor relations for Banpu, a Thai energy company. The precipitous drop in coal prices last year as the world economy swooned has delayed some projects. A controversial new mining law giving the government sweeping powers has also caused jitters.

These obstacles make existing mines all the more valuable. Banpu, which already mines coal in Indonesia and China, is on the lookout for acquisitions. So are lots of other investors, from private-equity funds to oil companies, such as Thailand’s PTT. Chinese firms are among the most eager. This week the Chinese authorities cleared Yanzhou Coal’s $3.3 billion bid for Felix Resources, an Australian coal-mining firm.

Coal is one commodity that China has in spades. It is the world’s biggest producer and was, until recently, a net exporter. But Indonesia’s coal is of better quality. The Chinese government, meanwhile, is shutting down smaller mines. UBS predicts the proportion of global exports going to China will double to 10% by 2012. India’s share is projected to rise from 5% to 8%.

What might slow the black tide? Andreas Bokkenheuser, an analyst at UBS, says little will change until consumers of coal are forced to pay more to pollute, via a carbon tax, for example. He is from Copenhagen, where negotiators are currently struggling to agree on any such system.

Estimated 250 million tonnes of coal under the sea bed.

A NEW method of mining coal which could open the door to a billion-pound boost for the region looks set to be pioneered off the North East coast.

A firm has been given permission to investigate using underground gasification to harness energy from coal without removing it from the ground.

The UK Coal Authority has given Clean Coal Ltd a licence for an area off the coast of Sunderland, where there are an estimated 250 million tonnes of coal under the sea bed.

If the project is successful in providing power it will be the first time gasification has been used in the UK energy market.

North East experts estimate there is coal worth £270bn below the ground in the North East, which would be enough to provide power for up to 600 years.

Coal, used in a more environmentally-friendly way than in the past, has been widely touted as a solution to the UK’s impending energy crisis, as current supplies of oil and gas run out and before renewables like offshore wind farms come online. Academics from Newcastle and Durham universities have been researching ways of making gasification, which was first pioneered in County Durham by Sir William Ramsay in 1912.

Ken Capstick: We can't afford to ignore our coal resources

Published Date: 09 December 2009
AS world leaders gather in Copenhagen for the climate change summit, the UK delegation should remember this: Britain is facing an energy crisis of untold proportions.
Alistair Buchanan, Ofgem's chief executive has warned that consumers
face energy cost rises of at least 14 per cent by 2016 with price spikes as high as 60 per cent.

Speaking on the BBC news recently, he declined to rule out energy blackouts that could see the lights go out and against this background we witness further protests at Radcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire.

Britain's energy security is in serious danger as a result of the policies followed first by the Tories and then by New Labour.

In recent years, the Government has conducted two energy reviews and still the crisis escalates and appears to be finally coming to a head in the year that has seen the 25th anniversary of the miners' strike that resulted in the decimation of our deep-mine coal industry.

It was, or should have been, obvious to energy policy makers that by 2020 our gas reserves would be at the fag-end and our oil reserves gone.

Yet nothing has been done to reduce our over-reliance on foreign
imports of gas, oil and coal.

We are now a net importer of energy. We import more gas than we produce and in 2008 we imported 44 million tonnes of coal at a cost £2bn, half of which came from Russia. Gas and coal represent 82 per cent of our energy requirements and for those who think coal is a fuel of the past we burn 60 million tonnes of coal a year but produce only 16 million tonnes ourselves, half from opencast and half from deep-mine production.

According to the Coal Authority, both the National Coal Board, in the late '70s, and later in 1990, British Coal, assessed Britain's
recoverable coal resources at 45 billion tonnes – 300 years worth at present consumption rates. In that time, we have only mined just over one billion tonnes.

Our operating reserves at existing mines in 1990 amounted to four billion tonnes, with a further two billion identified at what were then described as new mines. In other words, a possible 100 years of
reserves at present consumption rates.

The abandonment of these precious coal reserves have left us at the
mercy of unstable foreign importers of coal and gas. The spurious arguments used against exploiting our coal reserves are based on environmental concerns surrounding CO2 emissions.

Certain environmentalist lobbies, supported by other vested interests, have managed to convince many people that coal is a dangerous fuel that will damage the planet – evidenced by the campaigns waged against the power stations at Kingsnorth in Kent, Drax in Yorkshire and now Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire.

If all our coal-fired power stations were closed, it would not effect the billions of tonnes of CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere by China and America alone.

Clean coal technology is an absolute must and here's why. In 2004, China emitted 4,707 million tonnes of carbon dioxide while America emitted 5,293 million tonnes. These amounts are projected to reach 11,239 and 7,950 million tonnes respectively by 2030 according to the International Energy Agency.

The only solution is to develop clean coal technology to tackle what is a worldwide problem and, since developing nations like China and India will burn their coal reserves and America will seek to reduce its over-reliance on imported oil by burning its coal, those who argue for the development of clean coal technology are the true environmentalists trying to save the planet for future generations.

A new up-to-date in-depth assessment of Britain's mineable coal
reserves is urgently needed with the aim of using our coal as a major strategic energy resource.

Such a strategy cannot be left to the short-term thinking of the market with its limited ability to provide the necessary investment.

We have allowed the crisis to develop over many years and the Government has a duty to ensure Britain's energy security at a price
that the poorest in our society can afford.




•Ken Capstick is a former vice-president of the Yorkshire NUM

MALTBY FATALITY

The National Union of Mineworkers is extremely saddened at the loss of another of our members in a fatal incident at Maltby Colliery. An investigation is taking place and we will not comment further until the full facts emerge. Jackie Fisher, aged 52, was pronounced dead following an incident at Maltby Colliery on Tickhill Road, Rotherham yesterday afternoon (07 December 2009). Mr Fisher, who was married, had been an employee at the colliery since 1985 and had worked in the mining industry for 27 years.

Solicitors Lose Appeal

Beresfords duo lose appeal against misconduct charge in miners case
Author: Emma Sadowski

02 Dec 2009 | 14:43
Two lawyers who were found guilty of misconduct a year ago have lost their appeal in the High Court today (2 December).

James Beresford and Douglas Smith of Doncaster firm Beresford Solicitors were found guilty of misconduct by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in December 2008 for their handling of compensation claims from sick coal miners.

The appeal failed on all grounds, with Beresford and Smith now facing payment of all costs.

Beresfords instructed Alan Gourgey QC of 11 Stone Buildings throughout the process, while the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) was represented in court by Tim Dutton QC of Fountain Court Chambers.

Beresford and Smith originally faced accusations of misconduct in November last year, when it was alleged that the pair had entered into sham arrangements with third parties, breached client confidentiality and entered into conditional and contingency fee arrangements when it was not in their clients' best interest.

Their firm handled roughly 83,000 claims by miners and saw profits climb from £8.5m in 2004 to £36.2m in 2006.

Commenting on today's judgment, SRA chief executive Antony Townsend said: "The SRA has vigorously pursued the solicitors who betrayed the trust placed in them by their clients in this case and other miners' compensation cases.

"This is a good result for consumers, and should serve as a reminder to solicitors of the importance of acting with integrity in the best interests of each client, and of promptly putting things right for clients where errors are discovered."

Colliery set for jobs 'revolution'
Doncaster Star
Published Date: 27 November 2009
By SMark Hookham
A DONCASTER colliery is at the forefront of a carbon capture revolution which could create tens of thousands of jobs across the region, MPs have been told.
Tom Riordan, the chief executive of Yorkshire Forward, the regeneration quango, told an influential select committee that the development of carbon capture and storage technology at the Hatfield Colliery is "world leading".

He believes the construction of the world's biggest CCS power station at Stainforth could create an industry which boosts the economy by an astonishing £30 billion over 20 years.

The European Commission has pledged €180m - £162 million - towards the proposed CCS plant at the site owned by 'King Coal' Richard Budge's Powerfuel company. A deadline for European legislators to object to the plan passed last weekend.

Mr Budge aims to build the 900MW plant next to the colliery and pump the carbon captured into depleted gas fields under the North Sea. The £2.4 billion plant will require more funding if it is to be built by 2015 and further technical research.

The plant is a centrepiece of Yorkshire's aim to become a leader in low carbon technology, and Yorkshire Forward see it becoming a major new plank in the region's economy as it emerges from the recession.

Speaking to MPs on the Yorkshire and Humber Select Committee, Mr Riordan said: "We have got visionary people in the region on the low carbon agenda.

"We have just beaten several European regions to win a carbon capture and storage competition because of the vision of a company run by Richard Budge in Hatfield in Doncaster.

"The potential of that to create a manufacturing base that is low carbon and clean and can actually store the production of its carbon is world leading and something that could create tens of thousands of jobs in our region and boost our economy by, we think, about £30 billion over a 20 year period."

He also highlighted the importance of manufacturing giants Rolls Royce and Boeing to the region and the Advanced Manufacturing Park for high tech industry, just off the M1 between Sheffield and Rotherham



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HSE finds flaws in designs of Britain's nuclear plants
Flaws in the design of nuclear plants which it is hoped will reduce Britain's dependence on coal-fired power stations have been raised by the Health and Safety Executive.

By Aislinn Laing
Published: 8:00AM GMT 27 Nov 2009
The HSE said it had identified a "significant number of issues with the safety features of the design" of the French and American reactors and the process cannot move forward until they are fixed.
With the prospect of North Sea gas running out and a need to meet climate change targets, the plants are central to Gordon Brown's solution to keeping the lights on.
Earlier this month, Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary announced plans to build 10 new nuclear power stations, the first of which is meant to be up and running by 2018.
But before construction can begin, the safety issues with the plants have to be resolved as part of the HSE's General Design Assessment.
"If these are not progressed satisfactorily then we would not issue a design acceptance confirmation," the agency concluded in its report – which marks the end of the third stage in a four-part approval process.
Kevin Allars, the HSE's director of new build, conceded in an interview with The Guardian that there have been frustrating delays to the process because of insufficient information from the companies behind the reactors, EDF and Areva of France and American firm Westinghouse, which is now owned by Japan's Toshiba, and a shortage of qualified staff as the HSE.
But a spokesman for the executive denied claims that the red flags it had raised had thrown the Government's nuclear plans into chaos.
"We are not saying that everything has to go on hold," she said. "What we have said is that there are a number of concerns with certain aspects of the designs and we are in constant contact with the parties who put forward the designs to resolve them."
Nonetheless, industry experts said the HSE was well-placed to thrown a spanner in the works of the Government's nuclear plans.
John Large, a leading nuclear consultant, said the HSE would come under "a tremendous amount of pressure" from the Government to push the designs through.

Fatal pit accident hits coal firm's output

Date: 17 November 2009
THE UK's biggest coal mining firm has warned a recent fatal accident in Yorkshire and tough geological conditions in Nottinghamshire had delivered a bigger-than-expected blow to output.
UK Coal said bringing production at its Kellingley colliery back to normal levels following the death of 46-year-old Ian Cameron in an accident last month had taken longer than previously thought.

The company is also battling poor environmental and geological conditions at its Thoresby and Welbeck mines in Nottinghamshire, also denting output.

Annual production from its deep mines will now be between 5.7 and 5.8 million tonnes, compared with the 6.2 million previously expected, the firm said. Shares in the group fell as much as 16%

UK Coal closes mine after death• Two-week shutdown for Kellingley colliery, north Yorkshire

David Teather guardian.co.uk, Monday 26 October 2009 17.27 GMT
Britains biggest coal miner, UK Coal, has suspended production at one of its sites following the death of a worker, the company said today.

The company said investigations were continuing into the accident, which happened last week, and the colliery in Kellingley, north Yorkshire, would remain closed for the next fortnight, reducing its output for the remainder of the year.

Ian Cameron, 46 and a father of two, died after an apparent equipment failure, the company said.

The Health and Safety Executive announced this month it was prosecuting the company and two of its managers over three deaths at its Daw Mill site in Warwickshire between 2006 and 2007 and one at its Welbeck colliery near Mansfield in 2007. An initial hearing has been set for next month and the case is expected to reach court next year.

In its interim management statement, the company said it was announcing Mr Cameron's death with "deep regret", adding that "immense focus" remained on emphasising and maintaining safety at its mines.

Coal production in the first nine months of the year was broadly in line with last year but the company said lower electricity demand had depressed coal prices. Revenues in the year to date have been £255m, down from £292m at the same point in 2008.

The shutdown at Kellingley means the company is now on track to produce 6.2m tonnes from its deep mines, down from previous forecasts of between 6.4m and 6.6m. City broker Numis Securities increased its estimate for UK Coal's expected losses this year to £91.2m.

Miners blame Thatcher for energy crisis

Friday 09 October 2009Paddy McGuffin, Home

Affairs Reporter Printable Email The National Union of Mineworkers laid the blame for Britain's climate change crisis squarely at the door of the Thatcher administration and its brutal destruction of the mining industry on Friday.

The union was responding to a report published on Friday by energy watchdog Ofgem which warned of potentially devastating fuel price rises if urgent action was not taken.

In a review of Britain's energy market, Ofgem said an investment of up to £200 billion was needed to secure supplies and meet environmental targets.

It lists four possible scenarios for the future, including one in which a strong resurgence in global economies along with missed renewable and carbon targets would cause prices to surge by more than 60 per cent by 2016 before falling back.

The most favourable estimate - with a rise in bills of 14 per cent by 2020 - factors in a slow recovery from the recession, coupled with global green stimulus packages.

Ofgem said the biggest challenges to Britain's energy supply were the country's growing reliance on a volatile global gas market and its ageing power stations.

The regulator also said that "significant changes" may have to be made in the way we consume and generate power to manage the "variability associated with increasing reliance on wind power."

It added that a "massive" investment of between £95bn and £200bn in power plants was necessary "to secure both energy supplies and climate change targets."

National Union of Mineworkers national secretary Chris Kitchen said that the figures did not surprise him but that, if the Tories had not shut down the nation's mines and sold them off to the highest bidder, Britain would be in a much better situation.

"Had the pits not been privatised and sold off for profit, if they had been kept nationalised, how much would people's energy bills be now? We would have resolved the fuel supply problem and retained the industry and jobs.

"Twenty-five years ago, Thatcher started it but it has been allowed to continue ever since.

"If pits such as Grimethorpe had not been closed, the research they were conducting into clean coal would have been much further advanced and we might well have had clean coal power stations up and running already.

"The Tories sold the family silver and we are all paying the price trying to buy it back."

Mr Kitchen said that clean coal technology could be transferred to other sources of energy such as gas and other polluting industries.

GMB national officer Gary Smith said: "This report demonstrates that central planning is essential to ensure that the lights stay on. How many more red light signals do our politicians have to see before they take action?"

A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: "Ofgem is examining a range of hypothetical scenarios. It's prudent to do so, however unlikely they are.

"What's clear and set out in our transition plan is that there's no low-cost high-carbon future.

"It's critical we maximise the effect of our planning reforms, clean-energy rewards and efficiency measures to shift us away from fossil fuels and into a low-carbon mix," the spokesman said.

In focus: Clean coal technology
Clean-coal technology could help Britain achieve its target of a 60 per cent emission reduction by 2050.

Clean coal technology can refer to several different approaches, including supercritical steam plants.

Existing power plants could be retro-fitted to use higher steam temperatures and pressures producing efficiencies of up to 45 per cent, which would mean less coal is needed to achieve the same energy output.

Another option is the use of chemical "scrubbers" which contain amines that react with and trap CO2.

Sulphur dioxide emissions can also be reduced with the use of special flues.

Other options are still in development, including chemical leaching which would reduce the mineral content of coal and a technique first developed in the Soviet Union known as underground coal gasification whereby a seam is burnt and the resultant gas used as an energy source.

A further possibility would be carbon sequestration, which involves capturing CO2 before it reaches the atmosphere and burying it underground.

Electricity News ---Hatfield site tipped to receive EU millions for CCS project

Tuesday 06 October 2009
Powerfuel looks set to beat off competition from three other UK companies to receive £156 million in funding from the European Commission in a massive boost to its plans for a 900 MW carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at its coal gasification plant in Hatfield, Yorkshire.

A European Parliament source told NewEnergyFocus yesterday (5 October) that Powerfuel plc is likely to be awarded the money from the European Energy Programme for Recovery fund - managed by the European Commisssion. It is set to allocate €1 billion (£867 million) for CCS schemes across Europe, with €180m (£156m) being given to one project in the UK.

The final results are yet to be published because member states have two weeks - beginning last Thursday (1 October) - to object to the commission's proposal before it goes to the European Parliament for approval.

CCS is a potentially important technology which could help reduce emissions around the world
Ricahrd Dixon, WWF ScotlandThe Hatfield plant currently has a 900 MW integrated coal gasification combined cycle power system (see this NewEnergyFocus story). Yorkshire coal company Powerfuel plc was unable to comment before any official announcement.

The three other UK proposals eligible for the fund were:

Kingsnorth - E.ON planned for an 800MW CCS system at the 1940 MW dual-fired power station in Kent;
Tilbury - Tilbury Green Power Ltd planned for a 1600 MW CCS project at the power station in Essex;
Longannet - ScottishPower planned to develop a 3390 MW CCS system at the power station in Fife.
Consequently, environmental group WWF Scotland have expressed disappointment that Longannet - a 2.3 GW coal-fired power station in Fife - was looking unlikely to receive the funding.

Director Richard Dixon said: "It is disappointing Longannet has not been chosen this time around. We sincerely hope it will get some form of support to properly test this technology soon, whether it is from Europe or as a winner of the UK Government's own CCS competition."

"The world urgently needs technology that will reduce our climate emissions and Scotland is very well placed to take a global lead in this important field. The power sector is responsible for more than a third of Scotland's CO2 emissions, most of it from burning coal. CCS is a potentially important technology which could help reduce emissions around the world," he added.

The UK is holding a Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Competition - launched in November 2007 - with the winner set to develop CCS on a commercial scale by 2014.

Professor David MacKay: Britain ‘must go nuclear

to control climate change
Jonathan Leake

THE government’s chief scientific adviser on climate change has proposed a quadrupling of Britain’s nuclear power generation to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.

Professor David MacKay believes nuclear power could be the only way Britain can meet its soaring demand for electricity while keeping emissions under control.

He has calculated that renewable energy sources such as wind and tidal power will never provide more than a fraction of Britain’s electricity needs.

Speaking last week on his first day as chief scientist at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, MacKay set out a vision of how Britain could generate the threefold increase in electricity it needs, with nuclear power at its heart.

He cited Sizewell B, Britain’s largest nuclear power station, as a benchmark.
“This plan would involve a fourfold increase in nuclear power over today’s levels,” he said. “So at Sizewell, for example, you would have four Sizewell Bs and at other nuclear sites you would have another four Sizewell Bs, and so on.”

He added: “Britain could never live on its own renewables. If the aim is to get off fossil fuels, we need nuclear power or solar power generated in other countries’ deserts, or both.”

MacKay, who will advise Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, at the climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December, stressed he was not personally pro-or anti-nuclear. “My point is that whatever energy sources we choose, the sums have to add up,” he said.

Britain emits greenhouse gases equivalent to 680m tons of CO2 a year. The government has pledged to cut this to 140m tons by 2050 and has said it wants nuclear power to play a part.

In the next few weeks it is due to publish a shortlist of up to 11 sites where nuclear power stations could be built. Most are next to existing installations.

The scale of the nuclear programme hinted at by MacKay is far greater than that suggested by ministers, however.

There are 10 ageing nuclear stations in the country, with 12 gigawatts of generating capacity — about 15% of Britain’s needs. Two are due to close next year, the rest by 2023.

MacKay’s calculations, set out to an audience of Cambridge academics, are based on a new generation of nuclear power stations supplying 40 to 50 gigawatts of power by 2050.

Since modern nuclear power stations are likely to be much more powerful than those built in the past, this suggests fewer than 15 new reactors would be needed.

At the heart of his thinking lies a prediction that, by 2050, Britain will need three times more electricity-generation capacity than it has now.

This is partly because the only way to cut the surging emissions from road transport — roughly a third of all UK emissions — is to make most vehicles electrically propelled. Millions of electric vehicles would need regular recharging.

MacKay also wants to see an end to the use of gas for central heating and the replacement of boilers with heat pumps that extract heat from the atmosphere. They run on electricity.

“Setting fire to chemicals like gas should be made a thermodynamic crime,” he said. “If people want heat they should be forced to get it from heat pumps. That would be a sensible piece of legislation.”

MacKay said there were other ways of generating the electricity Britain needed. One was to rent swathes of desert from north African countries such as Algeria or Libya, cover them in solar panels and transmit the power to Britain along high-voltage cables.

In theory an area the size of Wales could meet all of Britain’s power needs, but the idea is fraught with technical and political problems. It would also leave Britain at the mercy of the countries whose territory contained the equipment.

Another possibility would be carbon capture and storage, in which CO2 emissions are captured before they enter the atmosphere and buried. MacKay said this was an untried technology, however, and should not be relied on.

Comment

To allow a mere human to fool with nuclear energy in any form, is tantamount to giving a monkey a gold watch.
'Climate change ' is part of a natural cycle, take a look at the various graphs available on the internet.
Politicians are always seeking new philosophies, designed to exact ever more Taxes from us all

Hungry in the cold and dark?

Thursday, September 10, 2009, 07:30
Comment on this story

THERE has been an increase in the demand for natural gas while demand for our own mined coal has declined.

Until recently coal was used for a variety of energy and chemical conversions.

About a half of the coal-fired electricity generating units during the last Conservative administration were decommissioned and industries powered by coal since the Industrial Revolution are now but a shadow in memory.

We have lost coal-fired power generating units, little having been done to supplement these losses, then began the so-called "Dash-For-Gas" by the conversion of still working coal-fired stations into gas-fired units.

During the 80s and 90s, green issues were not considered of any importance.

It was government policy to privatise the Central Electricity Generating Board by reducing its capital value and splitting the remainder into a number of separately-financed enterprises.

Any market for British mined coal disappeared.

With the increasing rate of consumption of North Sea gas, we have been informed these wells are nearing depletion.

The consequence is Britain is importing natural gas from politically unstable countries.

There is now a dash for the generation of electricity by any means that offer a cheaper or a "greener" option to the commissioning of new coal-fired or nuclear power stations.

The most popular route is to construct windmills.

The first post-Second World War Labour government began a huge programme of power station construction and a massive expansion of power distribution by cables supported by steel pylons.

The very sight of these towers gave rise to much public objection but it died away when the advantages were realised.

Today there are objections to the sight of wind turbines.

Will they become acceptable in time, like electricity pylons?

Can the limitations of wind, water and solar electricity generation supply the needs of our rapidly growing population?

Should we leave the coal in the ground and deprive the nation of the chemical and energy conversions that can be derived from it?

Suppose crude oil and natural gas become a commodity the nation cannot afford, shall we still leave underground a valuable resource?

What happens to the national carbon footprint should there be the construction of more coal-fired power stations?

Does Britain really need to be so stringent in its carbon outputs when such countries as China are increasing theirs?

Suppose this country is short of energy resources during the next decade, what becomes of the socio-economic structure?

Perhaps the final lines from my 1979 Open University essay, "Finite Energy Resources and Power Generation" may cause food for thought.

"When energy resources fail demand, shall we all go hungry in the cold and dark?"

R. Collinson,

Sancroft Road,

Spondon.

''The Market Has A Role To Play ?

3 August 2009
A GOVERNMENT minister is standing by plans for a new coal-fired power station at Cambois, insisting they have no doubts about carbon capture technology.
Minister of State for energy and climate change, Joan Ruddock MP, visited North Blyth and Cambois yesterday to see local renewable energy projects.

She said that the government was determined to go ahead with a new generation of four new coal-fired power stations, to be fitted with revolutionary, and untested, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

"We're not sceptical about this technology," she said. "What we have to do in the UK is de-carbonise the whole economy.

"And in electricity generation we have to take the carbon out if we're to continue to heat our homes.

"We need more energy from renewables, such as wind turnbines both onshore and offshore, but we need to look at traditional means of generating power.

"And we've been looking at how we can keep coal in the mix and how it can be done on a commercial scale."

Ms Ruddock said that the government had started a competition between leading energy companies to create viable commercial scale CCS.

The competition would finish in 2014, the minister said, with the carbon capture coal-fired power plants being ready by 2020, with "retro-fitting" of old plants following that.

However, Ms Ruddock said that the energy market would not be left to burn coal without CCS.

"The market has a role to play," she said. "We will incentivise energy companies to meet their emissions targets, and punish those that don't.

"Long-term regulation has always been in place and they will continue to be regulated."

Visiting residents in North Blyth who now use air-source heat pumps, Ms Ruddock said small scale community projects would "complimentary" to a new generation of coal plants.

She said: "We are trying to get the message across to the country that everything is going to change, but that's not something to be afraid of.

"These changes will improve our quality of life

comment on this story
''The Market Has A Role To Play''That means the consumer paying through the nose for electricity to keep shareholders happy

Energy Bills 'Could Soar To £5,000 A Year'

4:35pm UK, Monday June 22, 2009

Consumers have been warned to "future-proof" their energy bills after figures suggested they could spiral to almost £5,000 a year over the next decade.


Consumers advised to make homes more energy efficient


The cost of gas and electricity has more than doubled in the last five years and there is no sign the pace of the rises will slow down, according to price comparison service uSwitch.com.

This could mean bills reach as high as £4,733 a year by 2020, nearly four times higher than they are at the moment, the company said.

The average household energy bill is currently £1,243 a year - more than double the £580 it was in 2004.

uSwitch blamed increases on ongoing volatility in the energy market and huge spending on Britain's energy infrastructure.

A total of £233.5bn is being invested in energy supplies, according to professional services giant Ernst & Young.

Almost half the investment will go towards renewable energy and the rest on power plants, upgrading pipes, reducing carbon emissions and the roll-out of smart metering, which removes the need for meter reading.

But the cost of the programme will add £548 a year alone onto the average household energy bill for the next 15 years, uSwitch said.

Director of consumer policy Ann Robinson described the forecast as "a wake-up call for us all".

She said: "The fact is we are entering a new era of high-cost energy and households will have to adapt their behaviour accordingly."

Consumers should invest in making their homes more energy efficient, reduce the amount of energy they use and make sure they are paying the lowest possible price for it, Ms Robinson added.

She said people should not be scared to speak to their supplier if they are struggling with the costs and should ask the Energy Saving Trust for tips on how to reduce their bills.

She added: "The key thing is to start future-proofing yourself against higher energy bills now."

CLEAN COAL TO SUPPORT UP TO 60,000 UK JOBS

CLEAN COAL TO SUPPORT UP TO 60,000 UK JOBS 17 June 2009 09:57 Department of Energy and Climate Change (National)
Consultation details conditions for new UK coal power stations
Clean coal technology could bring between £2-4 billion a year into the UK economy by 2030, and support between 30,000-60,000 in jobs such as engineering, manufacturing and procurement, according to new independent research published today.

The report, ‘Future Value Of Coal Carbon Abatement Technologies To UK Industry’ by AEA Group, is published today alongside the Government’s consultation document ‘A framework for the development of clean coal’.

As outlined by Ed Miliband to Parliament on 23 April, the consultation details how the Government proposes to reconcile the need to curb emissions of carbon from future coal fired power stations with the need to maintain a secure diverse energy mix. It proposes:

Requiring CCS demonstration: New coal fired power stations should only be given consent in the UK if they demonstrate CCS on at least 300MW net (around 400MW gross) of capacity from day one. Each demonstration project would have to store 20 million tonnes of CO2 over 10-15 years. The proposed framework recognises that CCS demonstration will only proceed with Government intervention. A financial incentive funded by electricity suppliers will support up to four commercial-scale CCS demonstrations in the UK. Alongside the Government’s ongoing competition to build a post-combustion demonstration, up to three further projects including pre-combustion technology could be supported. The primary legislation required to implement this mechanism will be sought at the earliest possible opportunity.
Requiring CCS retrofit: All new coal fired power stations should be required to retrofit CCS to their full capacity within five years of CCS being proven. We are planning on the basis that this point will be reached by 2020, and an independent review, potentially led by the Environment Agency, would report in that year on the status of the technology. The consultation document also explores whether this requirement should apply to existing coal fired power stations.
Contingency: In the event that CCS takes longer than expected to be judged proven, further measures may be needed to ensure emissions from coal are substantially reduced. These measures could include an annual cap on individual power stations’ emissions, a limit on running hours or an emissions performance standard that would limit the amount of CO2 that could be emitted per unit of electricity generated.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“The conditions we’re proposing for new coal are the most environmentally ambitious of any country in the world, requiring the demonstration of CCS on a substantial proportion of any new power station and the 100% retrofit of CCS when it’s proven.

“At the same time, by providing funding for demonstrations, we can maintain coal as part of our energy mix, supporting diversity and therefore security of supply.

“By acting early, jobs will also be created as Britain develops the expertise in what could be a major new industry, with CCS projects offering the potential to form the hubs for clusters of low carbon industries.

“By driving the development of CCS in this country, we are also, as a country, playing an essential role in the battle against climate change.”

Notes for editors

1. Coal currently accounts for 37% (29GW) of the UK’s electricity capacity, generating 31% of the UK’s electricity in 2008.

2. These proposals were first outlined to Parliament by Ed Miliband on 23 April. His statement can be found at: www.decc.gov.uk

Conference includes nuclear in call for sustainable energy

Tuesday 19 May 2009by John Haylett in Llandudno

WALES TUC called on the Welsh Assembly government on Tuesday to give "the highest priority to sustainable energy policy" to challenge dependency on overseas wholesale gas and electricity markets.

However, the annual conference of Welsh trade unionists meeting in Llandudno also agreed to include nuclear power in a motion passed by a show of hands.

Mover Gareth Howells of Prospect noted that world energy demand was expected to rise by 55 per cent in the years 2005-13, mainly based on growth in India and China.

He said that Britain had "a far lower level of energy generated by renewables than mainland Europe" and denounced the failure of a policy based on "privatisation, competition, profiteering and pit closures."

Seconder Alwyn Rowlands of Unite said that nuclear power was "integral to a balanced energy programme."

Attacking the "usual hysteria," he said: "Strong decisions have to be made even if they are unpopular in some circles."

Nick Ireland of USDAW denounced as "a lie" the claim that inflation is falling, highlighting the 51 per cent rise in the cost of gas and 31 per cent in electricity to consumers.

Steve Comer of PCS took issue with the inclusion of nuclear, posing the need for retraining and redeployment against the case for defence of existing nuclear jobs.

"The issue of safety remains unresolved," he said.

His fundamental difficulty, he added, was with seeing nuclear as a "quick fix," which meant "not seriously looking at efficiency or at renewables."

loss of £15.6m in 2008

UK Coal recorded a pre-tax loss of £15.6m in 2008 due to geological challenges extracting coal from its older mines. However, revenue rose nearly 20pc to £393m, reflecting an increase in coal prices in 2008.

The resurgence in the popularity of coal as an energy source was evident in UK Coal's contract portfolio. The UK's largest coal producer has renegotiated new long-term contracts with Drax, EON and EDF Energy on improved terms and has signed a long-term deal with Scottish & Southern Energy, a new customer. The new contracts will provide £100m in up-front cash payments over the next two years that will be used to invest in exploiting new reserves.
chief executive of UK Coal, said the company will invest £55m at its collieries in Thoresby, Nottinghamshire, and Kellingley, West Yorkshire, as it taps into virgin reserves that will boost production to historical levels. He said that the investment would not have made economic sense until its major contracts had been renegotiated.

The Government last week gave the green light for the construction of four new coal-fired power stations that will be fitted with carbon capture and storage capabilities. Mr Lloyd said: "The decision gives us confidence that coal is here to stay."

Biofuels 'Like Pouring Vodka Into Beer'

11:27pm UK, Tuesday April 14, 2009

Biofuels could produce twice the carbon emissions of the fossil fuels they replace, environmentalists have claimed.
Friends of the Earth have said rules introduced a year ago requiring a percentage of UK transport fuels to be "green" could have created an extra 1.3 million tonnes of CO2.

Supporters of biofuels said that in the first year of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), the industry had shown it was possible to produce sustainable fuels in the UK.

But Friends of the Earth claim the RTFO could be producing the equivalent emissions of putting an extra 500,000 cars on the road.

The group's executive director Andy Atkins said: "Trying to cut emissions by adding biofuels to petrol is like trying to cut down on beer by lacing your pints with vodka.

He believes that until ministers can prove that growing crops for fuel actually cuts carbon, the government should stop biofuels being added to UK petrol and diesel.

The Renewable Energy Association is concerned if the Government reduces biofuel use it will not meet the EU target of 10% renewables in transport by 2020.

The REA also criticised the rules brought in on reporting how sustainable biofuels are because they allow companies to say the origins and sustainability of the fuels are "unknown".

A year on from the introduction of the RTFO, the amount of biofuels required in fuels rises from 2.5% to 3.3%, a smaller increase than originally planned following concerns over their effects.

The country needs 50 new pits

02 March 2009
By ROBERT BROOKS
SEVEN thousand new jobs and 400million tonnes of coal could provide an economic renaissance if two new mines are opened up – one at Amble – union leaders have claimed.

The National Union of Mineworkers is urging the Government to investigate whether plans for a drift colliery near the seaside town, together with a second at Seaburn near Sunderland, are feasible.

It claims that if coupled with new clean-burning technology, the pits could help the UK to sustain its energy needs without resorting to European and Russian imports.

The Government says it has no plans to extend current operations, but NUM president and former Ellington miner Ian Lavery said: "This is something that the Government must seriously look at, for the short, medium and long-term integrity of UK energy provision.

"The nation is becoming increasingly dependant on coal, and contrary to many people's beliefs, coal production in this country is not finished.

"We imported 46million tonnes of coal last year, which is the equivalent productivity of around 42 large underground collieries. The suggestion that we're using less coal is a myth.

"Britain is way behind other European countries in terms of clean-burning capacity, and that is where our focus must be."

Mr Lavery added: "If we get new collieries developed at Amble, for example, it's not about going back to the old days, it's about developing clean coal facilities, and that is the answer to our national energy problem.

"We'd love to see all our energy needs met by zero-emission renewable sources, but that is a pipe dream. We need to get back into the real world and accept that 50 per cent of electricity currently generated in the UK is from the burning of coal."

Scientists based in the North East are now at the forefront of research into carbon capture, with some saying support must be given to the creation of more efficient, less polluting coal-fired power stations.

Methods used to reduce carbon-dioxide output include treating coal before it is burnt or even flowing the gases back down beneath the North Sea.

The full article contains 352 words and appears in n/a newspaper.

Coal Can Save The Economy

Date: 27 February 2009
Bring back King Coal to create thousands of jobs on Wearside.
The was the call from miners' union leaders today to tackle the recession and build for the future.

David Guy, president of the former Durham NUM – now the Durham Miners' Association – wants to see two drift mines opened in the North East Coalfield at Wearmouth and Amble.

He believes they would have access to 200million tonnes of coal and create about 7,000 jobs.

However, Mr Guy claimed it would not just have a short-term effect on the region's economy and employment market.

He said: "It's an investment for the future.

"It will provide jobs for 1,400 coal miners for 50 years, and a knock-on effect for at least 5,000 other jobs in the region, for services, the supply industry and transportation of coal."

He called on the Government to launch a feasibility study into the project, which would see 21st century technology used to produce "British Coal, from British coal mines, by British workers for the British economy."

The union believes the time is right to start new mines because of the nation's increasing reliance on foreign energy sources.

Last year the Echo revealed Sunderland North MP Bill Etherington has urged Ministers to consider reopening the North East coalfield, as it is cheaper to mine now than when the pits shut in the 80s.

The former vice-president of the Northern Area of the NUM also tabled a series of Commons questions on the cost of production which revealed home-produced coal is now more than £13 a tonne cheaper than imports.

Because the former Wearmouth and Westoe pit sites have been built on, Mr Etherington said a drift mine would have to be started further inland, such as at Washington or Boldon.

He said: "If Wearmouth Colliery was still producing today, it would not be under any threat at all.

"The reason there was no demand when the pits closed was that there was a rush for gas. Gas is not so cheap now and that has to be looked at again."The other alternative is nuclear, but people don't want nuclear and uranium will be used up before coal, gas and oil.

"The Government has said it currently has no plans to undertake a feasibility study into the issue.

However, Energy and environment expert Professor Paul Younger, from Newcastle University, has previously said he believes the North East coalfield will reopen because the price of coal will remain stable compared to that for oil and gas.

He believes seams could be reopened, but it would take a multi-million pound investment and a big technical challenge to drive back the water which has entered the mineworkings since they closed.

Monday, 2nd February 2009

By Erikka Askeland and Jane Bradley

THE head of the UK's largest coal producer has said that a return to deep mining north of the Border is essential if the Scottish Government is to follow through on its commitment to coal-fired power stations.
Don Nicolson, the new chief executive of the Scottish Resources Group, which owns several firms, including Scottish Coal, told The Scotsman that there are "perhaps billions of tonnes" of coal in Scotland that could not be accessed by surface mining.

He said: "There are millions of tonnes, perhaps billions of tonnes of coal in Scotland. A small fraction you can get at through surface mining. If coal was to become part of our long-term future, which we think it will, then you need to go deep. That is where the bulk of the coal reserves are."

UK Coal has five deep mining sites – all in England. Scotland's last remaining deep mine, at Longannet, Fife, was closed in 2002. The Scottish Government plans to base the future of electricity supply on "clean" fossil-fuel power stations and renewables – and has said it will not build any more nuclear power stations north of the Border.

But it has come under fire from energy experts who have claimed that new coal-fired plants should not be built until a new technology – which does not yet exist – to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions is available.

Carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations accounts for almost 20 per cent of Scotland's emissions. Scotland has a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 to help prevent catastrophic climate change.

Nicolson admitted that a new deep mine could be some time off, refusing to comment on expectations that any new plant would open in Canonbie, Dumfriesshire, but added that coal mining could prove lucrative in the future, when commodity prices rebound.

Coal has dramatically dropped in price over the past six months, but Nicolson said he expects it to return to the $60 to $80 levels previously enjoyed by the industry. In August, the price was as high as $190 a tonne.

He said: "There are very high costs to set up, sinking shafts and all you have got to do. You need two things for this to happen. One, you need government's long-term commitment to coal because it will take a long time to get the coal out to get your money back. The second thing is commodity prices need to be high for a long period."

He added: "Coal prices today are pretty close to the bottom of the cycle. My view is once the world economy picks up, whether that takes one or two or three years, commodity prices will follow."

From The Sunday Times February 1, 2009

‘King Coal’ Richard Budge fires up clean power revolution

By Danny Fortson

A RADICAL plan by mining entrepreneur Richard Budge to build the world’s largest “clean coal” power plant in Yorkshire has been given new life after the European Union said it was considering an immediate €250m (£219m) cash injection to jump-start a project the UK government has refused to support.

Budge’s company, Powerfuel, wants to build a 900MW, low-emission power station fed by the Hatfield colliery, which he reopened in 2007. It would be the first and largest plant equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which strips CO2 from power-plant exhausts and buries it deep underground in geological formations.

The proposal was thrown into limbo last year when the British government disqualified it from a competition that will award “several hundred million pounds” in public funds that industry says is necessary to build the first plant equipped with the experimental technology.

Last week, however, the EU said the Hatfield project was one of four it was considering for an immediate €250m injection. The cash has been made available under a ¤5 billion economic recovery package unveiled last week.

An EU spokesman said: “We have chosen projects that are mature enough so they can be developed this year. We want to invest quickly to reactivate economic activity.”

Budge, known as King Coal after he bought the British coal industry from the government in the 1990s, will make a detailed proposal to EU officials this week.

He said: “If government policy were in place today, we could start building in April and be saving 5m tonnes of carbon per year by 2014. That’s more than the carbon savings from every wind farm that is built and operating in Britain today.”

Carbon capture and storage technology is seen as critical in combating climate change. The other UK projects named by the EU were Eon’s proposed coal plant at Kingsnorth in Kent, Scottish Power’s Longannet station and RWE’s Tilbury plant.

Whichever receives the EU cash could leapfrog a slow-moving British government competition that will subsidise the first CCS plant in the UK. A winner is not expected to be named until next year.

The Hatfield proposal was disqualified last year after the government decided to limit it to so-called “post-combustion” technology, which “scrubs” the CO2 from the flue gases generated by burning coal or gas.

Budge plans to build a pre-combustion facility, which gasifies coal before it is fed into the power plant and separates out the CO2, which is piped underground. At 900MW the project is much larger than the government’s demonstration competition, which would fund the building of plants about one third of its size.

- GDF-Suez of France has opened parallel discussions with Germany’s RWE, Scottish Power’s Spanish owner Iberdrola, and Vattenfall of Sweden as it seeks to form an alliance to bid for sites to build nuclear reactors in the UK. The French energy group is expected to decide on a partner soon. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will auction off four sites next month.




Have your say

If we can clean coal fired stations there's no need for nuclear, is there?

What a crap government we have, disqualifying a plan because it didn't fit in the right box.

Peter Ryder, Middlewich, UK

7 December 2008

Last week, two of the big suppliers - German-owned RWE Npower and Eon UK - announced they were making limited reductions in some of their customers' electricity bills.

But consumers who hope that these moves will spark a round of dramatic falls in their energy bills are likely to be disappointed. Golby told The Observer that the industry needed to protect its profit margins. This was in order to invest an estimated £100bn to build new wind farms and power plants, and to meet the government's ambitious environmental targets, he said.

In the future there would be a 'disconnect' between the wholesale price suppliers pay for gas and what they charge customers to use it, he added. 'If wholesale gas prices have fallen by a third, it does not mean retail prices will go down by the same amount.'

In the last year, energy companies have increased bills by about a third on average, blaming this on the doubling in the cost of wholesale gas and electricity. Since the summer, however, wholesale prices have sunk back to where they were at the beginning of the year, before bills started to rocket. But suppliers have yet to cut bills across the board in response.

Eon's profits in the UK fell by 25 per cent to about €750m (£650m) in the first nine months of the year, mainly because it did not pass on the full cost of wholesale price rises earlier this year.

But Golby explained that profits needed to be higher to be able to invest in new plant. 'Profits are not high enough to match the cost of capital needed for investment, for example in new plants. I accept that the group profit figures [of €7.7bn for the first nine months of the year] we report look large, but we need capital to invest.'

He added: 'It's difficult to finance [the investment needed] in the current financial environment if the government makes us reduce already lower-than- needed profits. Where will the investment come from? The government won't build nuclear plants or wind farms.'

He reassured customers that if wholesale energy prices continued to fall, some of the savings would be passed on. 'We will see energy prices go up because of all this investment which the industry needs to make. If wholesale prices fall, that helps to mitigate this.'

But he admitted: 'Energy is going to be far more expensive in the future than in the past. We have to prepare customers and the electorate to that fact and help them through the transition.'

Last year Eon made profits of £777m in the UK and invested £935m in new infrastructure.

Power cuts feared in UK nuclear plants crisis

Sunday, 5 October 2008 The INDEPENDANT By Geoffrey Lean and Jonathan Owen

Six out of 10 of the nation's atomic stations are operating below capacity, throwing their future into doubt.The Dungeness B power station - only one of the reactors is in operation

In theory, at least, Britain now has 10 operating nuclear power stations, stretching from Torness on the Firth of Forth to Dungeness on the south Kent coast. Each has two reactors, and ministers boast that they supply about one-fifth of the power that keeps the lights on.


The reality, as an Independent on Sunday investigation shows today, is very different. The majority of the power stations are in dire trouble, and their failure is leading to the most acute concern in years that the country may run short of electricity this winter.

Two of the 10 have been idle for almost a year, with both reactors out of action due to corrosion. Another two have had one of their reactors closed down for months. And yet another two are having to run both their reactors at less than three-quarters of their normal power for safety reasons.

And even that is not the end of it. Of the four that are still in good working condition, one is due to shut down permanently in two years' time, a second is partially closed for routine maintenance, and a third is facing safety questions following the discovery of flaws in similar reactors in Japan.

The meltdown of Britain's nuclear capacity is largely responsible for an alarming tightening of electricity supplies that is forecast to start at the beginning of November, as demand rises sharply for the winter, and to continue until at least the end of the month.

An independent nuclear analyst, John Large, said last night: "It's all in a pretty sad state. The reactors are starting to break up; they are becoming knackered. There comes a point when you simply have to turn the things off.

"We have been lucky for two years with mild winters, but if we have a cold snap then I can see the lights blinking off."

The National Grid insists there should be enough power even if there is a harsh winter, though it admits to "a lot of uncertainty" in its projections. But independent analysts warn of a real danger of shortages, saying the nuclear crisis is largely to blame.

Ed Mayo, the chief executive of Consumer Focus – the new official consumer body, which started work last week – said that supplies would be "tighter over the coming period than they have ever been".

David Hunter, an analyst with the independent energy consultants McKinnon & Clarke, which advises companies on how to minimise their energy costs, added: "Not very much has to go wrong to turn the situation towards brownouts and blackouts."

He pointed out that Britain has a maximum of 70-75 gigawatts (gW) of electricity available from its own sources. Last week, he added, 18gW of that was out of action – partly because of the nuclear crisis (which he called "very serious"), partly because of lesser problems with coal- and oil-fired plants, and partly through routine maintenance, bringing the total down to 52-57gW. Yet in a cold snap demand could rise to 60-62gW.

In the meantime, scarcity was joining with increased fuel costs to drive up prices; the wholesale cost of electricity for November was treble what it had been at the start of the year, which, said Mr Hunter, "gives some idea of the panic over availability". Eventually, consumers would suffer through higher bills.

Jeremy Nicholson, director of the Energy Intensive Users Group, said: "In ordinary circumstances nuclear would be running flat out during the winter. That's the whole point of it – to supply that base load."

Instead, the shutdowns and reduced power were causing "anxiety", he added. "We are all crossing our fingers, but I can't say we are too optimistic."

The crisis will reinforce both sides of the debate. Proponents of nuclear power will say that it underlines the need to build a new generation of reactors to replace the ones that are now running into the ground. Opponents will say that it proves the inherent unreliability of the technology, and point to construction problems, delays and cost overruns in the only two nuclear power stations at present being built in Europe, in Finland and France.

The two UK power stations that are completely out of action are Hartlepool in the North-east and Heysham One in the North-west. Both have been closed for almost a year because wire used to secure caps that allow access to boilers has become corroded, and may have to be cut out of concrete and replaced.

One of the reactors at the Dungeness B power station has been shut since the end of March because of defects in welds. The second closed for routine maintenance in July. British Energy claims that both will be back in operation by the end of December, but independent experts are sceptical.

Yet another reactor, at the Oldbury power station on the Severn, has been closed since July, with almost 100 dampers installed against the risk of fire. The entire power station is due to close, at the end of its working life, in December.

Both reactors at nearby Hinkley Point B and at Hunterston B on the west coast of Scotland are running at 70 per cent power, at inspectors' insistence, after developing cracks in the graphite core of their reactors. In the worst-case scenario, the cracked graphite bricks could break up and distort the nuclear core, trapping the highly radioactive fuel, which could overheat and melt.

There's more. Wylfa, on Anglesey, one of the minority of power stations where both reactors are operating satisfactorily, is due to close down permanently in December 2010. And cracks have been discovered in the steam generator at Sizewell B, Britain's most modern nuclear power station, resulting in the replacement of a reactor pressure-vessel head.

Sizewell B also faces questions over its future performance following the discovery of cracks in welds in four similar reactors in Japan. Experts say that it is now of an age at which it is likely to require a major overhaul that could see it out of action for six months, further crippling the contribution nuclear power is supposed to make to keeping the lights on.

Dave Douglass & Arthur Scargill Debate with the Green Camp

August 16 2008
Dave Douglass former NUM Yorkshire Area Executive member writes this report of his visit to the so called Climate Camp."

In August, me an Arthur Scargill enter another big field to fight the corner for the miners and coal our industry and cause. Last time it was that field at Orgreave, this time it’s the Climate Camp at Kingsnorth Power Station and instead of thousands of cops there’s thousands of eco-warriors who now believe coal is killing the planet and want to stop all new coal stations.

If truth were known, they want to close down all coal stations per sae. This time there is only Arthur, and me, we have no squads of pickets, no marching bands and no flying banners. It is in many respects as daunting a prospect, but it shows the quality of this man, our differences aside, he came into the teeth of opposition with an unpopular and untrendy message, among people who are hardly receptive to his old school brand of Marxist-Leninist socialism but prepared to debate till the cows come home why the NUM and clean coal technology are allies in the struggle for a socialist ecology and a just world.

Arthur is now 70 and I am 60, I think we present a figure of two rather battered and scarred alley cats come for a peace conference with the league of dogs. This is a sad and confusing conjuncture of forces. I have never in my life experienced a situation where the miners and what we do is the unpopular foe except among the ruling class and Tories.

Outside of the Young Conservatives, I have never known young people regard mining and pit heads as their enemy. What is worse is that these are my traditional constituency on the Anarchist left, they have the aura of the hippies, they aspire to the freedoms and love of life, which our 60s/70s generation did. I come across the Newcastle and Scottish camp, and know many of the activists from the Toon scene and demonstrations. Previously we have always held each other in a silent mutual respect, now there is a mutual distance, coolness, a sort of mutual Et tu Brutus. However, I see here also the mortified conviction of my own anti-nuclear youth. The conviction that myself and the world were on the brink of extinction. The certainty that if we delay we are all doomed to a wretched and painful end. Now it is climate change, and the gathering speed with which the earth is crashing toward climatical obliteration ironically for all carbon based creatures and vegetation on the earth as we know it. A change, which will cleanse us all from the surface of the globe for eternity.

The camp like some latter day Woodstock; they are a commonwealth, locked in debate and dedication, little communities with kids romping through the fields, longhaired, dreadlocked, singing and dancing. It is deeply wounding to be the enemy.

This is an anti-Durham gala, everywhere are Workshops on mining, on resistance around the world to mining of all descriptions, pictures of headgear and open cast, industry and miners, and the campaigns against them. It is like a Durham miner’s gala on bad acid. Instead of everywhere a celebration of the miners, our work, our communities, are protests for its end. I am shocked that many left groups are now Groupies to the eco movement and have abandoned all attempts at class analysis.

Arthur’s worst critic in the field is the local secretary of The Socialist Party, who tells him the NUM and miners’ struggle was yesterday’s cause, this was where the struggle was now, that Eon and the big generators to facilitate their profits are using us. I argue the opposite that every attack on coal feeds the nuclear agenda, sets the agenda for government policy. I remind them too that they are enthusiastic supporters of EON when it comes to ramming wind turbines down the throats of protesting locals resolved not to have them.

Around the tent, are dotted Trade Union members of the SWP are they now ready to bury him having once been full of his praise? For a month, the Weekly Worker has carried uncritical adverts for the camp while the Morning Star warned me I was underestimating the forthcoming climate holocaust and declined my article criticising the camp.

I have the honour to have wrote the official NUM bulletin The Miners and The Climate Camp, which Ken Capstick the Miner’s editor has managed to reduce from 8 sides to four with a bit of clever editing. I’ve humped 2000 of them in a huge bag from Doncaster and have spent the morning spreading them round the field, where they are received with less than enthusiasm. About 150 protesters turn up to the tent, where Arthur and I are speaking from 1500 in the field. Their bottom line argument is we shouldn’t be generating so much power anyway, it should be cut by 50% and we need to get use to not having electricity.

Arthur gets one of the Greens scientific officers to admit she was talking about taking out all nuclear and coal capacity, which would leave Britain virtually without power generation of any sort.

They are non-plussed by the fact that we both accept practical renewables, that we see solar energy as the long-term future for the planet. That many other clean sources, as long as they are not equally environmentally damaging (like land wind turbines) should be deployed along with mass insulation projects and energy saving programmes. But that coal should be the base supply agent and buy the world a breathing space so long as we developed carbon capture systems to burn it cleanly.

There is sympathy for the miners generally accepted as the most exploited people in Britain over the last century, but there has to be losers if we are to save the Planet, and we have been chosen to be it. Few people believe that CO2 capture works, and anyway will not be ready ‘in time’ to stop the climate going into free fall.

At the same time as facing the Climate Camp and linked to it across the left and green movement, more and more people are coming over to the Government programme for nuclear power, and an end to coal mining and coal burning in Britain. I have argued far and wide that clean coal is the alternative to a civil nuclear programme. I am stunned to be told the NUM’s new policy supports both coal and nuclear although I still claim this to be untrue. It needs urgent clarification, because this is a central plank in our defence.

I am asked to give a Workshop on the relevance and importance of the great 84/5 coal strike, nine people come. The relevance clearly isn’t too well established.
‘The Earth’ becomes an abstraction, humanity is some sort of foreign and alien invader and the storm troops, this time not of the TUC but of tidal waves, poverty and death, are the miners.

Of course, Arthur’s arguments are not totally mine, he talks of ‘dirty foreign coal’ and unfair competition, slave labour and child labour, these are not my arguments. Import controls are not a progressive answer, in my view, but I am for a level playing field of subsidies and a ‘fair trade’ standard of terms, conditions and union rights, which would be, for the millions of coal miners abroad as much as for us. We agree though that clean coal technology is an achievable science now, and it is vital that it is applied wholesale across coal generation.

The cops are arseholes as usual I am stopped and searched two sometimes three times a day, against my consent and often with force. Indeed, I am almost arrested, which would have been proved interesting in court. They could hardly argue they had reasonable grounds for suspecting I was going to sabotage the Power Station when I had gone down two thirds of the country with half a tonne of literature in its defence.

They attack the camp on numerous occasions and lay into protesters with truncheons; day after day, they line people against the fence from the very youngest toddlers to very old people, and search and harass them. Arthur makes a very strong Statement to the media at the gate, in defence of the right to protest and welcomes the protesters invitation to him and to debate this vital issue.

It was a privilege to stand with Arthur again, in the teeth of opposition again, though we could have done with thousands more supporters so short sighted ‘greens’ are not allowed to dominate this crucial debate.

I am trying to put together a Labour Movement Conference on Climate, Class and Clean Coal in Newcastle for the end of the year, and very much hope the NUM sponsor it and supply key speakers. Watch This Space.

Hatfield miners vote for NUM recognition

May 2008

In what can only be described as overwhelming the miners at Hatfield in Yorkshire have voted by postal ballot for NUM recognition.
A total of 165 votes were cast for the NUM with only 7 against representing a resounding 95.76%.


A total of 235 members of the workforce were entitled to vote and the turnout was 73% a stunning turnout for a postal ballot. The 165 voting for the NUM represent just over 70% of the total workforce entitled to vote.


Chris Kitchen NUM National and Yorkshire Area Secretary said:


"This is a great response by the miners at Hatfield Colliery and sends a clear message to Powerfuel management that the NUM has a role to play in what is hoped to be a success story at Hatfield Colliery. At a time when trade union membership is perceived to be in decline this ballot result shows this is clearly not the case.


"The CAC will issue a declaration with regard to the result within the next 2 weeks. The next stage is then for the NUM Yorkshire Area to agree with Powerfuel a Collective Bargaining Agreement. If at the end of 30 days no agreement has been reached the CAC has a further 20 days to arbitrate between the two parties. If this is not successful the CAC Panel will make the decision with regard to the mechanics of the collective bargaining at Hatfield Colliery. This is the procedure under the Trade Union Labour Relations Act 2002.


"Given the concerns that have been expressed to the NUM from members and non-members working at Hatfield Colliery with regard to safety it is not the NUM's intention to sit back and wait for what could possibly be a further 51 days for this procedure. We intend to pursue the right to set up workforce elected representatives (123 Inspectors) to conduct 123 inspections on behalf of the workforce under the regulations. Reports from these inspections must be sent to the HMI which is not the case with the safety committee that currently operates at Hatfield Colliery.


"Any member with previous 123 inspectors experience or wishing to put themselves forward as a 123 inspector should contact the NUM office 01226 215555 extension 211 as soon as possible. We will be writing to Mr Chris Daniels, Colliery Manager, in an attempt to facilitate the setting up of 123 inspections as a matter of urgency.
"The men at Hatfield Colliery should be congratulated for the outstanding result and the vote of confidence they have given to their Union.


A well deserved pat on the back must be given to the staff and all concerned whose campaign efforts and hard work have come to fruition."

Could mining be revived on Wearside?

'Bring back King Coal'


Could mining be revived on Wearside?
23 April 2008
By Kevin Clark
King Coal could rule again if a Sunderland MP gets his way.
Bill Etherington believes the time is right to look at reopening the massive coalfield off the North East coast.

The Sunderland North MP has tabled a series of Commons questions on the cost of production which revealed home-produced coal is now more than £13 a tonne cheaper than imports.

It is also cheaper to mine than it was back in 1982 before the closure of the pits.

The former vice-president of the Northern Area of the NUM is urging the Government to consider reopening the coalfield when it presents its proposals on the future of Britain's energy.

He believes rocketing gas and oil prices make coal more attractive than it has been for years.

He said: "If Wearmouth Colliery was still producing today, it would not be under any threat at all.

"The reason there was no demand when the pits closed was that there was a rush for gas. Gas is not so cheap now and that has to be looked at again.

"The other alternative is nuclear, but people don't want nuclear and uranium will be used up before coal, gas and oil."

The move comes after news that UK Coal plans to reopen its Harworth colliery near Doncaster, which was closed less than two years ago.

Harworth could become UK Coal's biggest pit with up to 40 million tonnes of available coal - but Energy Secretary John Hutton recently revealed the Government believes there may be around six times as much coal lying untouched beneath the North Sea.

Bill Etherington believes the minister's comments point to a shift in attitude in the corridors of power:

He said: "John Hutton was on about there being 250million tonnes that could be mined off the North East.

"When a Government minister who is pro-nuclear talks about coal off the North East coast, there has to be something going on somewhere."

The Wearmouth and Westoe pit sites are long gone - the Stadium of Light now stands on the Sunderland site - and Mr Etherington believes the best way to reopen the field may be to dig a drift mine from further inland, possibly around Boldon or Washington.

He said: "You would not just put a shaft in but you could put an installation in between Westoe and Wearmouth.

"It will probably be a pretty big investment," he said.

"There is a need for the coal, it could be produced more cheaply than it can be imported - the question i,s how much would it cost to get it?

"Does the government invest? Does it reopen it as a nationalised industry or could a private partner be brought in?"


* DURHAM NUM Boss Davey Hopper is backing Bill Etherington's call to take another look at the North Sea coalfiel.

"There is certainly plenty of coal there," he said. "There are 100s of millions of tonnes of coal off that coast and at least 60 years of reserves."

The miners' union believes its stance of the early 80s has been vindicated by the rocketing international energy prices.

"We have been arguing that the pits should never have been closed in the first place," said Mr Hopper.

"We have now got a world energy crisis - wee have got a war in Iraq that is about energy. In the past there have been very, very hasty decisions taken in relation to energy security by successive governments in Britain.

"It is very important that any country needs to have its own energy supplies - we can't just rely on importing energy. Gas, in particular, is coming from areas that are very, very unstable."

Pressure had been growing to increase the use of nuclear energy - but the cost of building and decommisioning nuclear power stations would have to be borne by the taxpayer.

"The costs of nuclear energy are horrific," said Mr Hopper.

"They will have to be underwritten by the Government - if there is money to underwrite nuclear energy there should be money to underwrite the coal industry.

"I don't know if the will is there or not."

*Paul Younger, Professor of Energy and Environment at Newcastle University has studied the North Sea coalfield.

He believes the seams could be reopened - but the water which has entered the region's mineworkings in the last ten years would be a major obstacle to any drift mine.

Ideally, any new shaft would cut though rock which has not previously been mined - but given the region's history, that could be easier said than done.

"Finding a route through virgin granite would be quite a challenge," said Prof Younger.

"But even if you had to drift through some flooded workings to produce coal, there are things you can do.

"The other option would be to drive the water back to where it was ten years ago which, again, would be possible,

"You are talking about a multimillion-pound investment then a million or so a year to keep the water down.

"My guess is that we will, eventually, end up doing that because the price of coal is going to remain so attractive and the price of gas and oil are going to continue to shoot through the ceiling.

"There will be a definite technical challenge, but the cost is in the tens, rather than the hundreds, of millions."

*NORTH East councillors could have the final say on plans to reopen the North Sea coalfield, says the Coal Authority's John Delany.

The authority was set up to take over responsibility for the unmined coal deposits and disused mineworkings after the closure of most of Britain's pits.

"We own the unmined and formerly worked coal, but we don't own the surface," said Mr Delaney.

"If somebody was going to try to reopen the mines, they would need to go to the local planning authority and would need to get planning permission to put in the headgear and sink a shaft.

Health support for miners

Raised by Yorkshire Area MP Michael Clapham 9 April 08

Surface coal workers suffering from a crippling lung disease has received a major boost.
Cabinet minister Harriet Harman has admitted the Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell needs to "get on" with making a crucial decision about compensation payments. Her comments follows pressure from Barnsley West and Penistone MP Michael Clapham, who is urging the Government to include surface screen workers in its £4.1 billion coal compensation scheme.

Currently only those who worked underground and who later suffered chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or vibration white finger are eligible for payouts.

However, in November the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council recommended help for COPD sufferers should be extended to those who worked in filthy coal screening sheds on the surface.

That recommendation could open the way for surface screen workers to claim industrial injuries disablement benefit as well as compensation from the Government's scheme.

But ministers have been sitting on the recommendation for almost half a year without making a decision.

Mr Clapham has lodged a parliamentary motion on the issue - backed by 45 other MPs - and has repeatedly raised it in on the floor of the Commons.

In a direct appeal to Leader of the Commons Harriet Harman, he said: "Given that the group of workers concerned are very elderly, will she urge that a decision can be made quickly, so that men who are eligible can claim industrial injuries disablement benefit, and can explore whether there is the possibility of reaching a full and final compensation settlement similar to that paid to their colleagues who worked underground?"

Ms Harman vowed to write to Mr Purnell "to remind him that he needs to get on with making the decision, because the tragic truth is time is not on the side of people who suffer from terrible diseases".

Royal Society comments on John Hutton MP’s speech on the future of coal

Latest press releases
10 Mar 2008


In response to John Hutton's speech at the Adam Smith Institute today, Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, said:

"If fossil fuels remain a big part of the UK's energy future then it is crucial that we develop and deploy carbon capture and storage technology. The world is not going to stop burning coal any time soon. The UK should seize the chance to get a head-start in developing the CCS technologies which will be needed worldwide. Kingsnorth is a test of the Government's resolve to show international leadership in the drive towards cleaner energy."

Daw Mill Reqruitment Drive

27 Feb 2008
Pit announces recruitment drive
Ex-miners have been given a rare chance to return to the coal industry after a pit announced a recruitment drive.
UK Coal said it wanted to take on more than 20 workers with previous mining experience at its mine in Daw Mill, north Warwickshire.

It wants to develop new reserves at the pit, which is the largest of UK Coal's four mines and has a workforce of 600.

Human Resource Director Norman Haslam said it was an "excellent opportunity" for former miners.

He said there would also be promotion opportunities for miners currently working at the pit.

Daw Mill is the last surviving pit in the Warwickshire coal field, which used to boast about 20 mines.

CLAIM THAT COLLIERY RE-OPENING COULD AVERT CRISIS

Last Updated: 17 January 2006 2:38 PM
CLAIM THAT COLLIERY RE-OPENING COULD AVERT CRISIS

COAL could provide the solution to Britain's looming energy crisis.
And rejuvenating the industry would provide hundreds of jobs in Fife, a Glenrothes man has claimed.
The government is currently considering the way ahead for the country's energy policy, with many experts predicting that a new generation of nuclear power stations will have to be built.
But Jim Parker is advocating the re-opening of Longannet Colliery as part of a long-term plan which also envisages resurrecting other pits in the region and the Lothians.
He is a member of the Rothes/Frances Mineworkers' Consortium, which has around 236 interested members, dedicated to reviving the collieries at Thornton and Kirkcaldy.
"As far as we are concerned, it is long past time for people to waken up to the fact that a rejuvenated coal industry must become a future player in meeting our energy requirements and, in central Scotland, we are ideally placed to make a start to that revival," the former mineworker said.
"It is difficult to convince people of the vast reserves of high grade coals we still have underlying the Forth Valley, and that valuable resources must be exploited to provide us with a secure energy source.
"Such a development programme would yield around 3,000 long-term jobs for skilled people, with many more vacancies created in the wide array of service industries associated with mining."
Mr Parker believes the fuel could be sold to Longannet and Cockenzie Power Station in East Lothian, both of which are coal-fired and he also makes the case for a new plant in central Fife.
He added: "The first step has to be the re-opening of Longannet Colliery, which was closed in such disgraceful circumstances."
Mr Parker, who was instrumental in setting-up the consortium which took over Monktonhall Colliery in Midlothian after privatisation of the industry, has called on Fife Council and Fife Enterprise to fund a feasibility study into his proposals, something they have so far refused to do.
He said: "I have met with nothing but blank refusals and indifference to the potential for creating 100s of well-paid jobs.
"I have no trouble with them disagreeing with my suggestions, but I do insist on my right to be given reasons for their attitudes, but they simply refuse these requests."


Last Updated: 17 January 2006 2:38 PM

Campaign to reopen Longannet Colliery

3rd Jan 2008
THE LEADER of the Scottish Mineworkers' Consortium is campaigning for
Longannet Colliery to be reopened.
Jim Parker, who was a manager at Longannet when it opened in the 1960s
and went on to become a consultant engineer before he retired, said the mine
could be up and running again in three years, creating hundreds of jobs.
However, concerns have been raised about health and safety issues that
would arise if the mine is reinstated.
Around 450 workers were made redundant when Longannet, Scotland's last
deep mine, closed after a flood in 2002.

A Scottish Coal report obtained by The Courier after the closure
detailed "horrendous" geological problems at the Kincardine mine.
At the time, some £40 million of taxpayers' money had been ploughed
into the site.
The report said any further investment would be wasted because the
colliery had become "insupportable."
However, Mr Parker now hopes to have the support of the Scottish
Government in campaigning for Longannet to be reopened.
Last year, First Minister Alex Salmond spoke out in support of coal
mining and said it will have a part to play in addressing future energy
needs, with the use of technology such as carbon capture.
Mr Parker said the local SNP councillor, Bill Walker, has backed the
consortium's proposal.
He said he is waiting for Jim Mather, the Scottish minister for
energy, enterprise and tourism, to set a date to meet him.
He estimated that reopening Longannet would cost about £30 million-"bargain
basement" compared to what it would cost to set up a mine on a new site.

"There is nothing outrageous in suggesting that Longannet could be
reopened in three years," said Mr Parker.
"It would take about two years to get the water out of the mine and
refurbish the equipment.
"And Fife is still awash with miners. There are also people in
Derbyshire, Yorkshire and even a few blokes in Wales that would be
interested in coming up here to work.
"It would create 450 jobs and produce about a million tonnes of coal a
year, and there are around 40m tonnes of coal at Longannet.
"Longannet could produce enough coal to produce over 20% of Scotland's
base electricity requirement and it's right beside a power station."

Mr Parker claimed that concerns about safety and the ground having too
many geological problems are ill-informed.
"People come up with that rubbish and it gets in the way of creating
hundreds of jobs.
"At Longannet there are the same conditions you would find in any
coalfield.
"It's a sin that this source of energy and employment is not being
taken seriously."
Plans have been announced for new deep mines in Dumfriesshire, and at
Port Talbot in Wales, where one disused mine has already been reopened and
four more could follow.
Mr Parker said the Longannet site is ideal and coalfields at Airth,
directly across the Forth from Kincardine, could also be exploited.
"Using the modern technology available, it would be possible to access
the huge coalfield at the other side of the Forth.
"But if we can't get the funding for it, it won't happen."

Independent Kincardine councillor Willie Ferguson, who has spoken to
ex-Longannet miners about the possibility of the mine reopening, said many
oppose it.
He said, "It would be impossible to reopen the colliery because of the
timespan since it was closed.
"There would be a structural damage, the hydraulic equipment would be
rusty and the roofs would need replaced.
"It would be a costly and dangerous job.
"It would be nice to have a deep mine in Scotland again, but rather
than try to open up an old one, it would be better to look at a new mine to
address the coal demand in Scotland."
He added, "A lot of former miners have moved on to other jobs. I'm not
sure if they would want to go back to working in a mine or not.
"However there are a few who I'm sure would be attracted back to the
mine. Whether we can get youngsters to go underground, I'm not sure."

Government to decide on coal plant

Government to decide on coal plant
Jan 3 2008

The Government will have to decide whether to give the go-ahead for
Britain's first coal-fired power station in more than 20 years after local
councillors backed the plan despite protests from environmental campaigners.
Energy giant E.On UK wants to replace existing coal-fired units at
Kingsnorth power station in Medway, Kent, with two new cleaner coal units
under a £1 billion scheme.
The firm said the move would produce power from coal more efficiently and
more cleanly than ever before in the UK and would produce enough energy to
supply about 1.5 million homes from 2012 as well as cutting carbon emissions
by almost two million tons a year.

Medway councillors supported the plan, which attracted thousands of
objections, but the final decision will be made by the Government.
Greenpeace said the proposal gave Gordon Brown his biggest test since
pledging to put Britain at the forefront of efforts to combat climate
change.
The campaign group warned that if the Prime Minister gives the green light
to the new coal-fired station, it would lock Britain into "huge" carbon
emissions for decades and signal Mr Brown's "surrender" on the UK's
long-term climate change targets.
Executive director John Sauven said: "Gordon Brown recently promised this
country he would lead the fight against climate change. Well, very soon
we'll know if he meant it.
"The proposal for a new coal-fired power station that has now landed on his
desk represents what could be the defining climate-change decision of his
premiership."
Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Robin Webster said it was very
disappointing that Medway Council had given its backing to the "outdated and
dirty" coal-fired power station.

E.On spokesman Jonathan Smith said the new station was "more modern and
efficient" than the old plant and would cut emissions by two million tons of
C02 a year - the equivalent of taking half a million cars off the road.

Methane extraction plant - to Electricity

November 5, 2007 A new power plant that generates electrical power using ventilation air methane (VAM) from coal mining is now in operation. The technology significantly reduces harmful emissions of methane (a gas 20 times more potent than CO2) released in the mining process, while producing power that can be delivered to the grid or used directly in the mine.

Developed by MEGTEC, the technology for the BHP Billiton project was is based on a patented combination of emission control and steam-cycle technologies. By using a compact and flameless VOCSIDIZER regenerative thermal oxidizer as an energy source, it is possible to generate high grade, super-heated steam from a fuel with 0.9% methane content. The steam has the same quality as used at traditional power plants. It is used to drive a conventional steam turbine which generates electricity.

Each hour, the installation is treating 0.9% of methane content in 250,000 square meters (2.69 million square feet) of ventilation air. The energy produced from the methane is utilized to generate steam suitable for running a conventional six Megawatt turbine. The volume of ventilation air treated amounts to only 20% of the total volume of ventilation air available from the ventilation shaft. When coal is formed, so is methane. When the coal is excavated, methane is released. Since methane in air is explosive in concentrations between 5 and 15%, ventilation air is used to dilute the methane to levels below 1% - well below the explosion limit.

Methane is a greenhouse gas over 20 times more potent than CO2. BHP Billiton can now convert the emission reduction to carbon credits corresponding to 250,000 tons of CO2e (CO2-equivalents). A VAM Power Plant treating the full volume of ventilation air can generate approximately one million carbon credits. In comparison, methane emissions of a cow amounts annually to between 1 and 2 tons of CO2e while a car annually generates emissions corresponding to a typical 2 to 4 tons of CO2e.

The $13million project was funded by BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal, with support from the Australian Greenhouse Office.

The power plant is now in full operation at the West Cliff Colliery of BHP Billiton, located in the state of New South Wales on the Australian east coast.

Coal must become king again

On current trends the world will need 50 per cent more energy in 2030 than it does today.
Worse - energy related emissions on greenhouse gases will be 55 per cent higher, which means we will fry our planet if not ourselves.

Renewable and nuclear will not be able to plug the energy requirement gap. We must press government and industry for a change in thinking now. We still have more than enough coal for our needs within these islands and seas. Time has run out for the development of other technologies.

Coal must once again become king. Government and industry in the UK and globally must wake up and smell the coffee!

Carbon capture is where the investment must be made. We must make it now and not tomorrow.

We can store carbon underground or under the sea, far safer than nuclear waste.

Run of mine power plants or underground coal gasification should now take centre stage on the table.

We must act now or the predicted energy gap in 2015 will lead to economic catastrophe.

It is too late for renewable and nuclear, we must campaign and act now for all our sakes, including our children.

CO COUN CHRIS WINTERTON Notts

55% World Increase in Coal

55 per cent growth in coal power generation
Despite concerns about global warming, there will be a steady increase in world coal-fired generation resulting in installed capacity of 2.1 million MW (2l00 GW) by 2020.

This new forecast in the McIlvaine report, Coal-fired Boilers: World Analysis and Forecast, represents a substantial reduction from the forecast made in April when the 2020 anticipated capacity was predicted at 2.7 million MW.

The lowering of the forecast is primarily due to restraints on new coal-fired power plant construction in Europe and the US due to concerns about global warming. In April it was estimated that expenditures of $2.5 trillion would be made for new plants. It is now estimated that expenditures for new plants will be only $1.5 trillion, but that there will be substantial investment in upgrading existing plants to meet environmental and efficiency goals.

Small coal-fired plants in the US, which would have been retired and replaced by new plants, will now be upgraded to meet environmental regulations and improve efficiency. A plant with 30 percent conversion efficiency operating 6000 hours per year can greatly improve generation with a slightly higher efficiency and longer yearly campaign.

China will add 350,000 MW during the period, accounting for more than half the total additions. Europe will not increase generating capacity, but will replace most of its inventory of plants with new super critical plants. Therefore, its investment in coal firing will be high. In fact, a significant percentage of the 160,000 MW of retired units in the next 13 years will be in Europe.

India will be the second leading country in terms of coal-fired generating additions. It will add more than 100,000 MW of coal-fired capacity by 2020.

There are a number of important variables which potentially will change the forecast again. However, most of these variables are likely to result in upward rather than downward changes in the forecast. One possibility is that the average citizen will not deem the global warming threat as severe enough to warrant doubling electricity rates.

There are some unique new ways to make coal plants green including CO2 sequestration, by-product HCl production, co-firing of biomass and use of waste heat for ethanol production which could make coal generation more popular.

The fact that oil prices soared above $90/barrel and the reality that the major energy resources for the US, China, and India are coal means that for these and many other countries, coal remains the most cost effective option for power generation.

McIlvaine also forecasts the costs and markets for wind, solar and other renewable forms of power. While there are promising niches for each of these technologies, there is no likelihood that any of these technologies will compete with the big baseload requirements.

Nuclear power remains a viable alternative. However, due to the rapidly growing electricity demand, the world will need more coal and nuclear power as well as contributions from the renewable sector. It should be noted that even though China will have twice the coal-fired capacity of the US in 2020, it will only have half the capacity per capita.

Coal-fired Boilers: World Analysis and Forecast

Plan to increase UK coal production

23 October, 2007

By Olivia Boyd

Government report highlights need to secure energy supplies over the next 15 years

The government has said it may increase UK coal production as part of its drive to secure energy supplies.

It said that there might be “scope for additional indigenous coal production” in its Energy Markets Outlook report, published today.

Energy minister Malcolm Wicks said renewable energy would play a “far greater role” in meeting energy needs, but did not give precise figures.

The government predicts 20-25 GW of new electricity generation will be required by 2020 to meet increased demand.

Wicks said: “Security of energy supply is one of the fundamental challenges this country faces. We need to ensure that the market delivers enough energy supply in five years time, in 10 years time and in15 years time.”

“Decisions are being taken, the market is delivering investment, but we can’t let our guard down.”

The Energy Markets Outlook report said delays caused by the planning system had had a major impact on the ability to deliver new infrastructure and there was a continued need for skills and resources in the engineering and construction sectors.

The report, which was developed with energy regulator Ofgem, provides energy market information on security of supply, looking ahead over a 15 year period.

Its publication comes as The Guardian reported the government is unlikely to meet its target for 20% of energy to come from renewable sources by 2020, citing leaked documents.

It also coincides with the news today that nearly half of the UK nuclear power plants have been out of action due to breakdowns and maintenance.

Out of the 16 reactors which supply 18% of the UK's electricity, seven have been shut down.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coal

Friday October 12, 2007
The Guardian


In Kent, protesters occupied E.ON's Kingsnorth power station and shut down its generators (Greenpeace protesters take over power plant, October 8). E.ON knows well that unpredictably intermittent wind needs constant backup from fossil-fuelled power or the lights will go out. We hope E.ON finds some money from its massive wind-power advertising budget to explain this to the people of Britain as we approach winter. Greenpeace's fairyland suggestions for locally distributed generation can neither supply the gigantic power demand of the UK, nor provide the necessary support for intermittent renewables.
Dr David Bellamy
Bishop Auckland, Durham
Dr John Etherington
Llanhowell, Pembrokeshire

Huge coal contract for Daw Mill Oct 11 2007

DAW MILL, the UK's biggest colliery, has won a new five-year supply contract with power generator E.ON.

UK Coal said the agreement would account for a significant element of annual production at the Warwickshire mine, where 600 people work.

All the coal will be supplied to E.ON's Ratcliffe power station, near Nottingham.

Daw Mill - Europe's biggest single site colliery - is one of four remaining deep mines operated by UK Coal.

The others are at Thoresby and Welbeck in Nottinghamshire and Kellingley, Yorkshire.

WELSH DRIFT MINE PRODUCES FIRST COAL - 01 AUGUST 2007

The first coal in a decade has emerged from a reopened drift mine in the Neath Valley in south Wales.

The Unity mine at Cwmgwrach, has been closed since 1998, but is estimated to have reserves of up to 90 million tonnes.

Around 120 jobs should be created at the site by early next year.

The mine's owners said that it will be capable of producing up to one million tonnes of coal a year for the next 25 years.

Chairman Gerwyn Williams said: "The mine is capable of producing about a million tonnes of coal a year.

Market conditions

"There are transport conditions to consider but that's what we're aiming for - for about a million tonnes a year for about 20 to 25 years."

The drift mine - one that men can walk into rather than being transported in a lift - is the first to be opened in Wales since Betws colliery in Ammanford in 1974.

The rising amount of imported coal, coupled with global price increases and demand makes formerly uneconomic sites commercial again.

Mr Williams said coal had risen by about 40 to 50% over the last six years

"Extraction is expensive but given market conditions currently - globally that is and they are mainly due to the increases in the economy of China and India - then coal prices worldwide have increased," he said.

On Wednesday Unity Mining will bring to the surface the first of what is called development coal which must be extracted so that further engineering work can take place.

It is hoped full industrial production will begin in early 2008.

But Mr Williams warned they may have to look overseas in the short term to find miners to work there because of a "generation" gap in skilled miners with the run down of the coal industry in the UK.

He said recruiting in Poland would be a "short tem fix, not a long term answer".

Unity also have four other mine sites in south Wales under development.

The only deep mine still operating in the once thriving south Wales coalfield is Tower Colliery at Hirwaun and that is to close next year because its reserves have been exhausted.

NEW COAL MINE FOR SCOTLAND SAYS ALEX SALMOND - 29 MAY 2007

ALEX Salmond believes he can revive Scotland's dormant deep-mined coal industry by combining a change in the Scottish government's attitude with new technology.

The First Minister has given his backing to "clean-coal technology" which is being introduced to Scotland's two coal-fired power stations as well as a bid to open a new deep coal mine in Dumfriesshire.

Together, he believes these two developments could resurrect traditional coal mining in Scotland, which came to a halt in 2002 when the last deep mine shut at Longannet in Fife.

With energy at the top of the political agenda and the Scottish Executive opposed to any new nuclear power stations, Mr Salmond believes a new generation of coal mines could help meet Scotland's energy needs.

Mr Salmond's first official duty as First Minister was to welcome the decision by Scottish Power-Iberdrola to invest in new clean-coal technology at its two coal-fired stations, at Longannet and at Cockenzie near Edinburgh.

Deep-mined Scottish coal has always had a high sulphur content and this contributed to its downfall. Strict European rules banned using high- sulphur coal in power stations but clean-coal technology, which extracts 90 per cent of the sulphur, makes it viable again.

The clean-coal technology not only extracts the sulphur, curbing sulphur dioxide emissions, but it also cuts carbon dioxide emissions by a fifth.

Mr Salmond said: "Coal is king. I have called an old energy technology into existence to redress the balance of nuclear. If you can use clean-coal technology, coal has a dynamic future.

"It means coal, from being environmentally unacceptable, is becoming environmentally attractive. What people forget is that we have roughly 10 per cent of Europe's coal reserves."

With deep-mined coal now close to becoming viable again, Scottish Coal wants to open a new deep-coal mine at Canonbie in Dumfriesshire which is said to have reserves of 400 million tonnes, enough to run Longannet for 80 years.

Dacre Purchase, chief executive of Scottish Coal, said: "They're building a power station every week in China. We're thinking we did a good job building a wind turbine. We're completely missing the point.

"If we can't demonstrate to the rest of the world first-class clean-coal technology and sequestration, and be able to export that skill and knowledge, then frankly, we're paying lip service to the issue of greenhouse gases.

"I think Alex Salmond has got the right idea. Let's hope Westminster assists in the process."

Since 2002, when Longannet closed, all of Scotland's coal has been taken from open-cast sites.

After strong local objections, the Labour-led Scottish Executive began to tighten planning rules on open-cast mines and introduced a presumption against granting planning permission for any more open-cast applications - effectively halting the expansion of this form of mining.

But if Scottish Coal's plans for deep mines - at Canonbie and elsewhere - proceed as intended, and the clean-coal technology works as it should, there will be no need for companies to seek any more open-cast mines in Scotland.

Chavez pulls out of IMF and World bank

2 May 2007

Venezuela's leader Hugo Chavez has underlined his intention to develop an alternative economic vision for Latin America by pulling his country from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund - organisations that have long had a controversial role in the region.

He is also to nationalise operational control of four oil field projects currently run by foreign companies.

Though Venezuela has paid off its loans to the two international lending organisations, Mr Chavez's announcement that he intends to quit the organisations is powerfully symbolic. It is likely to lead to other smaller nations to question their membership and demand a greater say in the organisations' policies.

"We will no longer have to go to Washington, nor to the IMF, nor to the World Bank, not to anyone," said Mr Chavez. "I want to formalise our exit from the World Bank and the IMF."

Despite Venezuela's close trading relationship with the US over oil - it is the fourth largest supplier of crude in the United States - Mr Chavez has long been critical of US interference in Latin America, be it political, military or economic. He has long derided the IMF and the World Bank for being controlled by US and Western interests and has said their policies of tight budget controls, privatisation and open markets have benefited foreign companies while leaving much of Latin America in grinding poverty.

Venezuela recently repaid its remaining debts to the World Bank five years ahead of schedule and paid off its debts to the IMF shortly after Mr Chavez first took office in 1999. He has steadily worked to provide alternative forms of credit and financial support for countries in the region, backed up by Venezuela's oil wealth. He has referred to such a project as the "Bank of the South". He has also invested millions of dollars on social programmes inside Venezuela that have reduced poverty and increased access to education and healthcare.

Mark Weisbrot, director of the Washington-based Centre for Economic Policy Research, which studied Venezuela's economy, said Mr Chavez was likely driven by several factors, one of which was the IMF's support of those involved in a 2002 coup which briefly led to his ousting. "The IMF is not really an independent actor," said Mr Weisbrot. "I don't think there's anyone in this town who would tell you with a straight face that it is not controlled by the US Treasury. There was no reason for Venezuela to remain a member... I think it's possible that other countries will pull out."

Mr Chavez made his announcement on Monday, a day after criticising the lending organisations during a meeting with leaders from Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti. He predicted that "sooner or later, those institutions will fall due to their own weight".

On Monday, Mr Chavez announced that some of the world's largest oil companies would lose operational control over projects in the Orinoco Belt reserve in Venezuela. Britain's BP, the United States' ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Exxon Mobil, Norway's Statoil and France's Total agreed to obey a decree to transfer operational control. The move came a year after the Bolivian President Evo Morales took control of his country's gas fields.

"President Chavez has ordered us to take full control over the sovereignty of our oil, and we are doing that today," said Venezuela's Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez.

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 02 May 2007

PM refuses to buckle

28 March 2007
Australian prime Minister John Howard has ruled out any response to global warming that would harm the jobs of coal miners.

British economist Sir Nicholas Stern wrote an influential report on the issue and is meeting both Mr Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd today.

He has called for Australia to cut its greenhouse emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, but Mr Howard has rejected any change that would put coal miners out of work.

"We should play to our natural advantages and I'm simply not going to agree to prescriptions that are going to damage the future of the Australian economy and I'm not going to agree to prescriptions that are going to cost the jobs of Australian coal miners," he said.

Mr Howard says Sir Nicholas makes a valuable contribution to the climate change debate, but his opinions should not be viewed as "holy writ".

"Some of the views that he's expressed I agree with; some I have reservations about; some I believe if implemented literally would do great damage to the Australian economy," he said.

"When it comes to the decision of this Government, uppermost in our mind will be the national interest, not the views of any one individual, however eminent he may be regarded by some."

Mr Howard has told Parliament he believes it would be economically damaging to cut its greenhouse emissions by 60 per cent by 2050.

"It would cost thousands of jobs in the Australian coal industry; it would in fact put back technological progress towards clean coal technology because of its impact on the Australian economy," he said.

Welsh Coalfields Opening Up

ONE of the world's leading diamond tycoons Gren Thomas is backing a strategy to revive the Welsh coal industry.

In a major coup for its expansion plans, Kenfig energy company Unity Power has appointed Swansea-born diamond magnate Gren Thomas to its board as a non-executive director.

Unity, which is chaired by South Wales mining veteran Gerwyn Jones, is in the process of reopening a drift mine in the Vale of Neath - the former Pentreclwydau mine.

The company, which plans to reopen a string of mines across South Wales, is also on track for a flotation on London's Alternative Investment Market later this year.

Mr Thomas is regarded as a founding father of the Canadian diamond industry.

His early career was spent in Ontario and then in the North West Territories. In 1992 he founded Aber Resources, which has a 40% stake in the Diavik Diamond Mine - which contains about 20 million tons of reserves and is the world's richest diamond mine.


During its projected 20-year life, average diamond production is expected to peak at eight to ten million carats a year, about 7% of the world's total supply.


Aber directly supplies the jewellers Tiffany & Co and controls Harry Winston, the United States diamond jewellery retailer.


Fuelled by discoveries like Diavik, the Canadian diamond industry has experienced phenomenal growth, becoming the world's third largest producer of the gems behind Russia and Botswana.

Unity is behind a number of projects to reopen large parts of the South Wales coalfield. The most advanced of these is the Unity Mine in the Vale of Neath which was closed in the late 1990s and is currently being brought back on stream. It is anticipated that the mine will start production this spring.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Thomas said, "There can be little doubt that world energy prices are set for a period of steady upward growth. The consequences for Wales are profound, as it means that what were once regarded by many as marginal reserves can now be bought back into production.

"What really impresses me about Unity is that it has a clear view of what it is trying to achieve and how it intends to execute those plans.

"It is progressively putting into place the business elements which will enable it to become a significant provider of energy.

"By joining the board I will contribute my many years of experience to building a successful Welsh-based energy company," he added. A float for Unity will provide it with the means of financing, through share issues, its ambition of consolidating a fragmented Welsh coal industry.

Recently the House of Commons Select Committee on Welsh Affairs estimated annual Welsh coal production was around two million tonnes. But the recent escalation in world coal prices suggests the prospect of increasing production levels.

A Unity spokesman said, "We are delighted at the prospect of working with Gren.

"Having helped to build an industry from scratch, he must rate as one of the most successful figures in world mining.

"This appointment adds huge credibility and will maintain the momentum that has gathered behind the name Unity Power."

The Welsh coal industry is reawakening because rising world energy prices have made fossil fuels far more valuable than when pits were written off as uneconomic in the 1980s and 1990s.

Sion Barry, Western Mail

Drax

20 Feb 2007

The largest coal - fired power station in Western Europe will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 5% in a drive to tackle climate change.

The Drax power station in North Yorkshire will invest £100 million in a turbine upgrade - the largest steam modernisation project in UK history.

NUM National Secretary Steve Kemp said ' The NUM welcomes the news from Drax, and that given the debate on climate change in Britain at the moment, this decision means that miners, and indeed trade unions, can play a progressive role in future on this subject and that at the same time deliver reliable supplies of electricity.

This news comes on the back of yesterday's news that Judge Sullivan in the High court ruled that the governments plans to build more nuclear plants, and that its public consultation was totally inadequate.

The NUM calls on the government to halt any more of Britains deep mined coal pits being shut, to stop its bias towards Nuclear and gas and do the sensible thing and take the coal industry off the privateers and back into public control.'

Greenpeace Wins Nuclear Victory

15/02/2007
A top British judge struck a blow at Prime Minister Tony Blair's plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations on Thursday, calling the government's consultation on nuclear power "inadequate" and "wrong."
High Court judge Jeremy Sullivan handed a legal victory to environmental group Greenpeace, which had argued that the consultation carried out by the government before it decided to back new nuclear power stations was "legally flawed."
The government said it would consult further but pledged to press ahead with publishing an energy white paper fleshing out its proposals for new nuclear power stations.
"We continue to believe nuclear power has a role to play in cutting emissions and helping to give this country the energy security it needs," the Department of Trade and Industry said in a statement.
A DTI spokesman said, however, it was too early to say whether the energy white paper, expected in mid-March, would be delayed: "We have to digest the ruling and see where we are."
After a six-month review of future energy supplies, the government said last July Britain needed new nuclear power plants, more electricity from wind and waves and cuts in energy consumption to fight global warming and reduce rising dependence on imported oil and gas.
Agreeing with Greenpeace, judge Sullivan said the consultation process had been "clearly and radically wrong."
"The 2006 consultation document contained no information of any substance on any of the issues identified as being of crucial importance," Sullivan said. "It was not merely inadequate but it was also misleading."
"The application for a quashing order therefore succeeds," Sullivan said.
Charlie Kronick, a Greenpeace spokesman, said the government should re-run the consultation, taking at least six months.
"It's difficult to see how you could justify pressing on with the white paper," said Kronick, a member of Greenpeace's climate and energy campaign team.
The opposition Liberal Democrats' environment spokesman Chris Huhne said he was delighted by the ruling which meant the government would have to "consult properly about the full implications of a new generation of nuclear reactors."
"The full economic and environmental costs, as well as the security risk, need to be taken into account," he said.
The opposition Conservatives said the ruling had shown the government was "fundamentally deceitful" and that it had no intention of consulting widely on nuclear power.
The Conservatives say new nuclear plants should be a last resort while the Liberal Democrats oppose them.
Greenpeace argued the energy review was not a full public consultation because it did not resolve key issues surrounding a new generation of nuclear power stations, such as dealing with radioactive waste, financial costs and reactor design.
Blair, who has said he will step down this year after a decade in office, is a firm believer in the need for Britain to build a new generation of nuclear power stations.

Greens welcome UK Greenpeace ruling

15/02/2007 - 16:44:32

The Green Party welcomed the positive outcome of Greenpeace's legal challenge against the UK government and said it would strengthen the anti-nuclear lobby in Ireland.

Green Party Environment spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said: "I congratulate Greenpeace on taking this case. Their success has demonstrated that the UK government's decision to favour the construction of new nuclear plants was reliant on incomplete economics and a downgraded assessment of the huge problems of managing radioactive waste.
"In ruling that Tony Blair's decision to support the construction of new nuclear power stations was 'legally flawed', the British High Court has significantly weakened the case of the nuclear lobby in the UK and elsewhere.
"The Green Party welcomes a full and proper debate about nuclear power in Ireland. We are confident that policies which support renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements are key to the securing of an affordable and safe energy supply.

"Today's court decision supports what we have long argued: nuclear power is neither economically viable nor environmentally acceptable," concluded Deputy Cuffe.

Beattie calls for support on clean coal

The Australian — QueenslandThe Nation NSW/ACT
By Jade Bilowol
February 04, 2007

THE Federal Government needed to support clean coal technologies instead of nuclear power to set a world example in tackling global warming, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said today.
Mr Beattie today called on Prime Minister John Howard to act on damning international scientific reports blaming harmful greenhouse gas emissions for climate change by supporting the state's push for clean coal technologies.

Such technology enhances the efficiency and reduces the environmental impact of coal extraction, preparation and use as an energy source, he said.

Mr Beattie said it could be developed and exported around the world to make an impact in developing countries rapidly establishing coal-powered stations like China and India.

“We are one of the great coal producers of the world,” Mr Beattie said in Brisbane.

“What we can do through clean coal technology is reduce greenhouse gases in our own generation and, hopefully, we will get some outcome within five years – then we can export that.”

He said he didn't agree with Mr Howard's leaning towards nuclear energy.

“Even if we see increased nuclear power in China – it's going to be something like two or three per cent of their total generation,” Mr Beattie said.

“It's largely going to be coal-based because they have large supplies of coal and they buy coal from us.

“So, if we are really serious about climate change ... we as a nation have to invest in clean coal technology.”

He also criticised the Federal Government's refusal to ratify the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“I know last night there was a suggestion from the prime minister that they won't sign up to Kyoto because the United States won't and emerging powers like China haven't,” Mr Beattie said.

“There's some truth in what the prime minister is saying but that truth doesn't remove the obligation to do something about it.

“The way to do something about it is for them to put contribution of funds into greenhouse gas production by supporting our clean coal technology.”

He said action was needed in light of research showing 90 per cent of global warming was caused by human activity.

“We are getting more violent weather patterns, we are getting floods, getting droughts,” Mr Beattie said.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report – released in Paris on Friday night (AEDT) – gave a bleak observation of what is happening now, with an even more dire prediction for the future.

It said it was 90 per cent certain that human activity was to blame for global warming.

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level,” the report said.

The report said man-made emissions of greenhouse gases could already be blamed for fewer cold days, hotter nights, killer heatwaves, floods and heavy rains, devastating droughts, and an increase in hurricane and tropical storm strength – particularly in the Atlantic Ocean.

German Miners Protest

1 Feb 2007

BERLIN - More than 10,000 German miners stopped work on Thursday in protest at government plans to shut down German coal mines by 2018 and calls by the leader of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for an even earlier phase-out date.

Thousands of miners and other employees of the RAG industrial conglomerate, which operates Germany's eight existing coal mines, demonstrated in front of the regional parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia in Duesseldorf on Thursday.

RAG's coal-mining unit, Deutsche Steinkohle (DSK), said that 10,000 miners failed to turn up for work, answering the call of the IG BCE union to go to the demonstration in Duesseldorf instead.

VENEZUELA TO NATIONALISE 'ABSOLUTELY ALL' ENERGY SECTOR - 14 JANUARY 2007

CARACAS (Reuters) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said on Saturday the country's entire energy sector had to be nationalized, reinforcing his socialist revolution and possibly giving himself more targets for state take-over.

But he said he would permit foreign firms to hold minority stakes in energy deals.

The anti-U.S. leader, in power since 1999, this week announced he would nationalize power utilities and the country's biggest telecommunications firm, confirming his status as the catalyst of Latin America's swing to the left.

"We have decided to nationalize the whole Venezuelan energy and electricity sector, all of it, absolutely all," Chávez said in his annual state of the nation address to parliament, potentially opening up more projects for state acquisition in the No. 4 crude exporter to the United States.

Why gas follows oil up, but not down
The president was reinaugurated this week for a term that runs through 2013.

Chávez has already pursued oil and gas projects and power utilities but on Saturday left no leeway for a private company to hold a majority in operations anywhere in the energy sphere.

What will be targeted?
It was not immediately clear whether his pronouncement on nationalizing the whole sector was a precursor to moves against specific projects or companies.

Venezuela will have to judge how closely private firms must be connected to the country's oilfields, refineries, pipelines, gasoline stations and coal mines to count as targets for nationalization.

Huge oil service companies such as Halliburton (Charts) and Schlumberger (Charts) operate in Venezuela but Chávez gave no indication whether deals involving such businesses were now in his sights.

In his address to parliament, Chávez also said Venezuela was "almost ready" to take over the foreign-run oil projects of the Orinoco Belt, which produce about 600,000 barrels per day.

Those projects, which turn tarry, heavy crude into fuel, are run by U.S. majors including Chevron (Charts), Conoco Phillips (Charts) and ExxonMobil (Charts), as well as European heavyweights such as France's Total (Charts), Norway's Statoil (Charts) and Britain's BP (Charts).

Chávez confirmed such firms could stay on as minority stakeholders after the state had acquired 51 percent.

"If someone wants to stay on as our partner, then the door is open but if he does not want to stay as our minority partner then hand me the field and goodbye," he said.

Despite his conviction that Caracas was on the verge of taking over these projects, the country has faced a long battle in wresting control away from the foreign firms.

A senior Venezuelan oil official last month acknowledged that the Caribbean state could face hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if it takes over the projects, because of financing agreements with international banks.

CNN http://Money.com
14 January 2007

Russia gets its hands on Royal Dutch Shell's Sakhalin-2 field

12/12/2006
Royal Dutch Shell has bowed to pressure from the Russian government to allow state-owned energy company Gazprom to take over its Sakhalin-2 oil and gas field.
The Anglo-Dutch oil company said yesterday that it has made several proposals to Moscow and Gazprom. These are understood to involve Shell and its partners giving up control of the $20bn (£10.2bn) project.
The move by the Kremlin will be seen as a sign that Russia will no longer tolerate foreign investors controlling strategic assets.
Shell owns 55 per cent of Sakhalin-2, with Mitsui of Japan owning 25pc and Mitsubishi 20pc. It is thought that Shell proposed giving up about 30pc-35pc, and the other two companies handing over about 10pc each.
Gazprom was originally negotiating to take a 25pc stake in Sakhalin-2. Talks collapsed when Shell said the development, on an island in eastern Russia, would require substantial investment.
Shell has faced threats from Russian agencies to terminate operating licences because of environmental violations. These were viewed in the West as attempts to force Shell into submission.
Stephen O'Sullivan, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, said: "The days when foreign companies could envisage control over Russian oil and gas projects are over."
But, given Sakhalin's huge revenue potential, Shell would still benefit from being part of the project, he said.
The Sakhalin deal was struck in the early 1990s when oil was around $20 a barrel and Russia's ailing economy needed foreign earnings. But with oil touching $60 a barrel, Russia wants to reclaim a greater share of earnings.

A spokesman for Gazprom said the company is analysing the proposals. Shell declined to comment.

By Russell Hotten

Major Russian oil pipe to Europe shut off

January 8 2007:


MOSCOW (Reuters extract) -- A Russian oil pipeline carrying supplies across Belarus to Poland and Germany stopped pumping overnight in a trade dispute between Moscow and Minsk that could lead to fuel shortages across Europe.

Only last week the ex-Soviet states promised to put their argument to one side and keep providing oil to the rest of Europe whose refiners are heavily reliant on Russian supplies to make winter heating oil and other products.
The feuding grew more intense on Sunday when Belarus subpoenaed the head of Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft and Russia demanded an end to oil transit fees imposed by Belarus.

"Oil supplies via the Druzhba [Friendship] pipeline to Poland and Germany were halted overnight. We sent a letter to Belarus asking for explanations," said Tomasz Zakrzewski, a spokesman for Polish pipeline operator PERN.

Germany confirmed the news. Officials said they were in the dark as to the reason for the stoppage. Plants in east Germany are most vulnerable, including Total's Leuna refinery.

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GMB Warns That Cutbacks In Spending On Nuclear Decommissioning Will Undermine Public Support For Nuclear Industry

Resulting cuts in routine planned maintenance will lead to more incidents like that at Sizewell yesterday says GMB
8 Jan 2007

Gary Smith, GMB National Officer for energy industries commenting on the incident of the burst 10 inch mains water pipe at Sizewell nuclear power station which led to leaking of 40,000 gallons of water yesterday said: "This recent incident at Sizewell highlights decades of chronic underinvestment in our nuclear industry. It also comes at a time when the Government is proposing to cut funding to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority NDA. This Government gave a commitment that it would clean up the nuclear legacy, and proposals to cut NDA funding will ultimately impact upon investment in training and maintenance, which can only further exacerbate problems that we have as a result of neglect. Any cuts in the NDA budgets will severely undermine public confidence in the future of the industry."

Ends

Coal-to-liquid fuel gets a lift

Fu Chenghao
2006-12-15
CHINA plans to spend one trillion yuan (US$128 billion) through 2020 to develop its coal-to-liquid-fuel and chemical industry as it works to reduce reliance on oil imports and cut pollution.

The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top industrial policy planner, said on Wednesday that it has mostly completed an opinion-gathering process for a long-term industry blueprint that will be sent soon to authorities for approval.

The Shanghai Securities News said yesterday the total proposed budget for the 2006-2020 period is more than one trillion yuan, half of which will be used for equipment supply and 10 percent for technological knowhow.

The country plans to increase annual capacity for turning coal into liquid fuel from a very small amount now to 1.5 million metric tons by 2010, 10 million tons by 2015 and 30 million tons by 2020. As a result, the fuel could make up four percent of the country's total refined oil products by 2015 and 10 percent by 2020.

China also wants to build the capacity for making dimethyl ether to five million tons, 12 million tons and 20 million tons by 2010, 2015 and 2020. DME, produced from methanol made by gasifying coal, is a clean-burning fuel alternative that can be blended with other fuels.

On the other hand, the government plans to add only limited production capacity for traditional coal-to-chemical products such as coke and fertilizer.

"China is rich in coal, but the coal conversion industry could be hurt by risks such as falling crude prices, rising coal costs and environmental protection issues," said China Jianyin Investment Securities analyst Ye Zhijun.

Building a DME plant, for example, will cost much more than a crude oil refinery with comparable capacity, and the DME production process also consumes more water, industry analysts pointed out.

To avoid investment in uneconomic projects, the government has said it will approve only new coal-to-chemicals plants that meet specified production capacities.

UK COAL LOOK TO SELL LAND ASSETS - 05 DECEMBER 2006

UK COAL has posted the following statement on its website which once demonstrates the company’s main interest of land ownership, speculation and sale rather any commitment to the production of coal and the exploitation of the nation’s valuable coal assets.

“UK COAL currently operates two surface mine sites in Northumberland and has consent to operate a further site, has submitted a planning application in respect of one other site and has a further scheme in the development.

The sites currently in operation are Maiden Hall and Stobswood North, both near Morpeth.

The Group has recently been granted planning permission to extract around a million tonnes of coal from the Steadsburn site, near Widdrington, which will embrace an extensive reclamation of rail sidings, coal stocking area and the Widdrington Disposal Point.

There are two other potential sites: Butterwell, which embraces the current Disposal Point, and which contains around a million tonnes of coal for which no planning application has yet been made; and Portland Bum near Ashington, a site which contains around 2mt of coal and 500,000 tonnes of fireclay which could be irretrievably lost as a result of the rising water table unless it is extracted within the next 9 to 10 years. A planning application in respect of Portland Bum is currently receiving consideration by the Northumberland Mineral Planning Authority.

UK COALl has been in discussion with North East businessman Mr. Bob Young, President of the Hargreaves Group, with a view to him purchasing sites. We are now in a process of due diligence inquiries which are likely to take a month or so to complete, and which may or may not, lead to a sale and transfer of these assets..

UK COAL employees engaged in those North East operations have been informed of this development. Their employment terms will be protected if a sale is subsequently completed. If that is the case, the new owner will also be committed to undertaking the restoration of the existing operating sites and those he subsequently works.

UK COAL will remain a substantial landowner in the North East and will continue to develop those assets in accordance with the appropriate planning consents.

Mr. Young was founder of the Hargreaves Group in 1996 and is currently the President of the company. He is also President of Newcastle United football club and a Durham County councillor.”

Steve Kemp NUM National Secretary said, “We have been saying for some considerable time to anyone who would listen that UK COAL are not interested in the production of coal or in the nation’s desperate need for energy security. The company are into land and property speculation and are more than willing to dispense with the energy assets that are becoming so valuable as the world energy crisis unfolds.

“It is time the Government dispensed with its unquestioning adherence to the free market ideology it has adopted and took control of Britain’s energy resources in the interests of the nation as a whole.”

Only one Nuclear plant working, the rest are being fixed

The Government's recent energy review, was almost recklessly optimistic. The margin of spare capacity in our electricity system has fallen, and is set to fall further and faster. For some time we have known that our current nuclear power fleet is coming to the end of its life. Sizewell A and Dungeness A plan to close this year, and a further 7,000 MW of plant will be offline within 10 years, with only one existing station, Sizewell B, open by 2020.

Recently, the process has been accelerated. This month, British Energy announced that two of its nuclear power stations, Hunterston B and Hinckley Point B, would be shut down after cracks were discovered in the boiler tubes. The company also said that it was investigating a leak in piping at Hartlepool, that Dungeness B has issues with its fuel route, that Heysham 1 has operating temperature anomalies, that Heysham 2 is having work done on turbine bearings, and that Sizewell B is currently undergoing planned refuelling. British Energy therefore had only one nuclear power station, Torness, running at full output.