A brief list this time . . . only the most recent stuff.
US blocks Vietnam coal-fired power plant loan in 'first crucial test' - Sydney Morning Herald | The US Export-Import Bank board of directors voted on Thursday not to proceed with the financing of US exports to help build a coal-fired power plant in Vietnam, following a plea from US environmental groups to stop the project.
S.Korea's energy imports fall in Q2 amid lower prices - Xinhua | South Korea's energy imports fell in the second quarter due to lower commodity prices that offset a rise in energy import volume, customs office data showed Tuesday...Falling energy imports came amid lower commodity prices. Prices of coal imported from overseas tumbled 21.8 percent, with those for crude oil and natural gas declining more than 10 percent. ... Inbound shipments of coal tumbled 15.2 percent to 3.25 billion dollars over the same period, but those for natural gas increased 8.5 percent to 8.37 billion dollars.
Japan coal consumption up by 26pct in June | Reuters reported that Japan's regional power monopolies used 26% more thermal coal in June than a year earlier to generate electricity to compensate for the shutdowns of all but two of their 50 nuclear reactors amid public concerns about safety
Japan Utilities Use Less Oil On Nuclear Restart, New Coal Units - Bloomberg | Japan’s utilities used less crude and fuel oil in June as the operation of two nuclear reactors and new coal-fired units helped them reduce reliance on more-expensive sources.
Locals stall $4 billion Indonesia power plant - Japan Times | JAKARTA – A $4 billion Japanese project to build a large coal-fired power station in Indonesia has hit a major snag due to opposition from local residents, sources revealed.
Job cuts in Australia’s coal sector climb to 11,000 - mining.com | Lost jobs in Australia's coal sector becoming a hard-to-heal wound. Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) tipped the job cutting balance in the coal sector a bit further Tuesday as the US giant announced it is axing another 170 employees, about 5.7% of its total workforce at its Australian operations.
Coal Carriers Returning to Profit on Australian Exports: Freight - Bloomberg | The largest commodity carriers are poised to profit for the first time this year as Australia exports near-record amounts of coal, diminishing a glut of ships that caused rates to drop as much as 99 percent since 2008.
...“The wall of supply from expansion projects in Australia will prove very challenging for coal prices,” said Marc Pauchet, a senior analyst at ACM Shipping Group Plc, a shipbroker in London. “It’s a baby step for the shipping market on its road to recovery.”
Gov't Plans to Spend 1.7 Tln Yuan on Plan to Fight Air Pollution - Caixin | The new plan, approved by the State Council in June, has five main components, Zhou said. Among the most important tasks is curbing excess capacity in industries that emit high levels of pollution, consume high amounts of energy and are heavily reliant on natural resources. This would include the steel, cement and glass industries...The plan will speed up changes in the country's energy sector, encouraging a shift away from coal as the main energy source, Zhou said. It will aim both to promote the clean and efficient use of coal and to increase the use of clean energy sources...The plan will also try to control emissions related to transportation. The ministry is considering raising emission standards and fuel consumption standards for vehicles.
Coal-rich county denies cutting free medicare after protest - Xinhua |XI'AN, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Coal-rich Shenmu County of northwest China's Shaanxi Province has vowed to continue free medical care and education despite rumors that the local government is deeply in debt and cannot provide such services any more.
Other China:
China's state-owned electric utilities announced record profits for the first half of 2013 because of the low cost of coal. They will not be required to adjust consumer electric prices downwards until Jan. 01 of next year. Imports of coal into China are still at or near record levels although Shenhua (world's largest coal producer) cut imports of coal in half from May to June and is rumored to be further decreasing coal imports. The company (Shenhua) is also taking market share from domestic producers by aggressively cutting prices and leveraging its access to rail services. Smaller producers are forming regional protectionist organizations in effort to slow price decrease and loss of market share. During Energy Safety small-group meeting that was part of US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, Lou Jiwei said China will move ahead to reform natural resource taxes and will consider ad valorem taxes for coal and increased tax levels. Coal Industry Analyst Zhang Zhibin (张志斌) says it will be very hard to implement and might raise taxes 300% from 5rmb per tonne to 20 rmb per tonne (at 5% of 400RMB coal-mouth value).