A second utility serving Illinois has struck a deal with the Blagojevich administration calling for drastic cuts in mercury emissions from its coal-fired plants.
Houston-based Dynegy agreed Monday to go beyond federal regulations and cut mercury emissions 90 percent by 2015. Federal rules would require a 70 percent reduction by 2018.
Dynegy has also agreed to cut [...]

Analysts at UBS maintain their “neutral” rating on Excel Coal Limited (ticker: EXL). The target price is set to $8.60.
In a research note published yesterday, the analysts mention that the company has posted its NPAT for FY06 at $98.1 million, representing a 56% y/y increase. Excel Coal’s bottom-line performance was, however, in-line with its guidance, [...]

China National Coal Group Corp is buying a major coal-to- petrochemicals plant in Harbin, Northeast China, where it plans to turn out 600,000 tons of olefin products annually using home-grown technology.
The Beijing-based State-owned company, China’s second-biggest coal firm, has reached an initial agreement with the Harbin municipal government on the takeover of Harbin Coal [...]

The Lamar City Council and Lamar Utilities Board were updated this week on the status of the coal repowering project by Lamar Light and Power Superintendent Rick Rigel.
According to Rigel, the sub-structure contractor, Industrial Constructors/Managers began moving into the area on July 17 with excavation work starting on July 24 for phase one of the [...]

Brazil’s Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), most recently in the news over its contested bid for Canada’s Inco, is reported to be going to develop a massive new coal mining project at Moatize in Mozambique in south eastern Africa.
Moatize has long been known as a major, and rich, coal deposit with large reserves of [...]

Shares of coal mining companies cooled Friday after favorable economic data boosted investor confidence and hints of heightened demand this fall boosted the stocks in a midweek rally.
Shares of Peabody Energy Corp. gained $3.15, or 7.1 percent, to $47.83 between the closing bells and Tuesday and Wednesday. Shares of Arch Coal Inc. added $1.72, or [...]

From concept and siting, an effort to build one of the nation’s first coal-to-liquids plants in Wyoming will soon move to the permitting and design stage.
Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC recently awarded a contract to Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin to perform feasibility, engineering and design services for a $1 billion facility located in northern [...]

Alabama-based Drummond aims to produce 50Mt of coal in Colombia in 2010, “doubling current production,” according to Drummond union leader Orlando Acosta.
For now the company hopes to wrap up 2006 with production of 26Mt at its La Loma mine in northern Colombia, where it plans to expand the rail line and infrastructure.
“All of this is [...]

Coal miner Consol Energy Inc. on Wednesday said it received an 11-year contract from PPL Corp., parent company to Pennsylvania utility PPL Electric Utilities.
Financial terms were not disclosed, although Allentown, Pa.-based PPL said the contract is for coal at “current forward prices.”
The contract calls for Pittsburgh-based Consol Energy to supply two PPL generating stations in [...]

Shares of coal mining companies finished higher Wednesday as investors’ fears over higher interest rates eased at least temporarily and oil prices dropped to their lowest level in two months.
Shares of Peabody Energy Corp. gained $3.15, or 7 percent, at $47.83 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consol Energy Inc. added $1.63, or 4.4 percent, [...]