coal Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Battery-powered mining trucks to see test run in Lewis County

By Lauren Gallup February 24, 2023

A hydrogen powered haul truck, the largest emissions free vehicle in the world, will soon be demonstrated on an old mining site in Lewis County. Image credit of Anglo American / First Mode

The site of the last coal-fired power plant in Washington state will soon be home to proving grounds for a carbon-emissions free mining truck. The truck is a battery and hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle, developed by Seattle-based First Mode, and it's the largest emissions free vehicle in the world. Chris Voorhees, co-founder and chief product and technology officer at Read More

Explosive Demolition Of Boardman Coal Plant Underscores End Of Coal-Fired Electric Generation In Oregon

By Tom Banse September 16, 2022

The towering smokestack at Portland General Electric’s shuttered coal-fired power plant near Boardman has fallen, heralding the end of the era of coal-fired power generation in Oregon, Sept. 15, 2022.

A demolition contractor on Thursday imploded the towering smokestack and 19-story boiler building at Portland General Electric’s shuttered coal-fired power plant near Boardman, bringing a symbolic close to the era of coal-fired power generation in Oregon. Imported electricity generated from coal still flows through transmission wires across the Pacific Northwest, but that Read More

Northwest Energy Generation Continues To Green Up

By Courtney Flatt January 13, 2022

Coal plant closures in the Northwest decreased heat-trapping emissions that contribute to climate change. The Boardman Power Plant closed in October 2020.

Coal plant closures in the Northwest and an increase in natural gas generation meant fewer heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions recently contributed to climate change, according to new data from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.Read More

Wyoming Doubles Down On Coal With Threat To Sue Other Western States, Including Washington

By NWPB News May 3, 2021

In this July 27, 2018, the Dave Johnson coal-fired power plant is silhouetted against the morning sun in Glenrock, Wyo. A law signed April 6, 2021, by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon creates a $1.2 million fund for an initiative that marks the latest attempt by state leaders to help coal in the state that accounts for the bulk of U.S. coal production, which is down by half since 2008. Wyoming coal production, which accounts for about 40% of the nation's total, has declined as utilities switch to gas, which is cheaper to burn to generate electricity. CREDIT: J. David Ake/AP

Last year, Wyoming and Montana — another major coal state — asked the Supreme Court to override a decision by Washington state to deny a permit to build a coal export dock on the Columbia River. The interstate lawsuit followed years of unsuccessful attempts by the dock’s developer, Utah-based Lighthouse Resources, to contest the permit denial in federal court.Read More

Pandemic Shutdown Is Speeding Up The Collapse Of Coal

By NPR News April 27, 2020

Energy analysts say coal use is down so much that some power plants might run out of room to stockpile it.

Coal use has plummeted in part because it's more expensive than natural gas or renewable energy. Mines are shutting down, and some power plants may run out of places to stockpile coal. Read More

EPA Proposes Relaxing Obama-Era Rules On Waste From Coal Plants

By NPR News November 4, 2019

PacifiCorp's Carbon Plant in Utah is one of several coal-fired power plants in the company's fleet chosen for early retirement. CREDIT: Cassandra Profita/OPB

The Environmental Protection Agency would give coal plants more time to close unlined coal ash ponds, and ease rules on wastewater. Opponents say that prolongs the risk of toxic spills.Read More

Northwest Utility PacifiCorp Releases Plan To Cut Coal Power And Add Renewables

By Cassandra Profita October 4, 2019

A coal mine operation in Wyoming. CREDIT: KATIE CAMPBELL/KCTS9

Environmental groups have been pressing PacifiCorp for years to close more of its coal plants sooner and speed up its transition to renewable energy. But leaders in states like Wyoming, where the utility’s coal plants are stationed, say the company would be hurting local economies and betraying their trust by closing coal plants early.Read More

U.N. Climate Summit Sets Stage For New National Emissions Promises

By NPR News September 23, 2019

A coal-fired power plant in central Poland. Global greenhouse gas emissions rose in 2018, and the world is on track for potentially catastrophic climate change in the coming decades. Czarek Sokolowski/AP

Humanity is not on track to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. Delegations from nearly 200 countries are meeting to discuss promises they made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Read More

‘It’s The Stone Age Of Fossil Fuels’: Coal Bankruptcy Tests Gillette And Mining Across The West

By NPR News September 6, 2019

In Gillette, Wyo., miner Bill Fortner stands by stalled trains that normally would be transporting coal. Local production has declined by one-third in the past decade. CREDIT: Cooper McKim/Wyoming Public Media

Hundreds of coal miners in Wyoming are still out of work two months after their employer declared bankruptcy. It's a moment of reckoning for a town some think relies too much on the energy industry.Read More

Proposed Southwestern Washington Coal Export Terminal Dealt A Blow By Appeals Court

By David Steves August 23, 2019

A coal company has been dealt another legal blow in its attempt to build an export terminal on the lower Columbia River. The Washington Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling Tuesday that was being challenged by Millennium Bulk Terminals and Northwest Alloys Inc.Read More

Regulators Resist Call For Action In Response To Black Lung Epidemic

By NPR News June 20, 2019

Gary Hairston, a coal miner for 27 years, spoke at the hearing. He has been diagnosed with Progressive Massive Fibrosis, the advanced stage of black lung disease. House Committee on Education and Labor

A top mine safety regulator testified before Congress that no new regulations are needed to protect workers from deadly silica dust, despite an epidemic of advanced black lung disease.Read More

Finding New Opportunity For Old Coal-Fired Power Plant Sites

By NPR News May 23, 2019

The coal plant in Shamokin Dam, Pa., is a local landmark that delivered electricity to this region for more than six decades. It closed in 2014, and the state hopes to lure new businesses to the site. CREDIT: JEFF BRADY/NPR

Coal-fired power plants keep closing, and communities around the country must decide what to do with those sites. Pennsylvania has a plan, aiming to create new jobs where old ones have been lost. It's a trend seen in other states, including Washington.Read More

A Northwest Utility Considers Early Retirement For Some Coal Operations

By David Steves April 25, 2019

An energy company with hundreds of thousands of Oregon and Washington customers is considering the early retirement of some of its coal-burning operations.Read More

Northwest Utilities Plan For Future As Regional Coal-Power Plants Are Phased Out

By Courtney Flatt January 8, 2019

Portland General Electric's coal-fired Boardman Power Plant along the Columbia River. Courtesy PGE

A new federal report shows the amount of coal burned for power has fallen to its lowest point in almost 40 years. That’s because natural gas is cheap, renewable energy is growing and coal plants are shutting down.Read More

President Trump’s Push For ‘Energy Dominance’ Boosts Drilling On Public Lands

By NWPB News November 26, 2018

Environmental groups say the expansion of oil and gas drilling on public land could harm habitat for pronghorn antelope and sage grouse. CREDIT: Cooper McKim/Wyoming Public Media

Analysts say a perfect storm is making Wyoming, the country's largest coal state, more favorable for oil and gas. Higher oil prices are certainly one factor, says Carl Larry, who advises oil and gas companies with the financial consulting firm Refinitiv in Houston.Read More

Coal Jobs Up, But Not Because Of President Trump’s Policies, Analysts Say

By NPR News February 23, 2018

The number of U.S. coal jobs rose slightly during the president's first year in office. But energy analysts credit short-term market forces and say they won't stop long-term decline.Read More

Climate Activists Protest Puget Sound Energy Plan To Keep Using Coal

By Eilís O'Neill February 22, 2018

Activists gather outside the Renton Community Center to protest Puget Sound Energy's plan to continue using electricity from coal.

About 100 activists gathered Wednesday, Feb. 21 to protest Puget Sound Energy’s plan to keep producing electricity from coal until 2035. PSE is the company that likely keeps your lights and Wifi on if you live in the Puget Sound area but not in Seattle. Their main concern was climate change.Read More