Southwestern Electric Power Co. said Wednesday it would build a new coal-fueled, 600-megawatt power plant north of Fulton in Hempstead County.
The $1.3 billion plant is part of a plan that includes gas-powered plants at Tontitown and at Shreveport, La. The plant near Fulton would run on coal mined in Wyoming. Plant costs are to be [...]

Idaho Governor Jim Risch says Idaho will opt out of a federal pollution trading program, a move that effectively prevents coal-fired power plants from being built in the state.
Risch says opting out is “a very important step in protecting Idaho’s environment and the people who call Idaho home.”
He’s following the recommendation of the Idaho Board [...]

With the announcement on Tuesday that two Illinois communities are in the final running for FutureGen–a $1 billion low-pollution coal-fired power plant–things are looking up for the state’s coal industry.
“For coal in general, I think we’re seeing a major upturn,” said Joe Angleton of Du Quoin, current director of the Office of Miners and Minerals [...]

Electric power sector consumption of coal is projected to grow by a modest 0.7 percent in 2006, and then increase by another 1.3 percent in 2007 due to high natural gas and oil prices. In 2006 and 2007, U.S. coal production is expected to grow by 1.8 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, per year. [...]

The Utah Geological Survey has produced a new map showing the location of Utah’s coal resource areas.
The map highlights the state’s coal-bearing basins. It shows the locations of state and federal coal leases as of late 2005.
The map is designed to be useful [...]

Full Metal Minerals (TSX VENTURE:FMM.V - News) is pleased to announce that it was notified by the Alaska Mental Health Trust that the Company has been awarded a coal lease covering 22,647 acres. The lease area includes Alaska’s only significant occurrences and past-producing operations of metallurgical coal. In the area of the Chickaloon Coal lease, [...]

The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has withdrawn its proposed coal-mining project in Isabela after a decade of dispute with church leaders, environmentalists and local residents.
Fr. Tony Ancieta, leader of the Isabela Anti-Coal Mine Alliance, said during a dialogue with residents and environmentalists in the province, PNOC president and chief executive officer Eduardo Mañalac announced [...]

Kenya’s hopes of becoming a coal producer are much higher after exploratory drilling in two districts yielded encouraging results.
According to Government geologists carrying out studies in the Mui basin in Kitui and Mwingi districts, coal, which is currently imported, has been found at a depth of 11 metres.
On site: Workers and part of the machinery, [...]

West Virginia lawmakers said they were impressed with a $300 million coal mine and processing facility they toured in Logan County Sunday. They praised the Arch Coal Inc. plant for being state-of-the-art, safe and efficient.
That investment, however, comes at a cost for the environment and some residents, critics say.
Arch officials told lawmakers that this facility [...]

UK Coal was Yorkshire’s top performing stock in July – posting a 17 per cent rise in total shareholder return (TSR), according to the Yorkshire StockWatch report by Halifax Financial Services.
The Doncaster-based coal producer said it expected to move back into the black and report profits for the first half of this year following strong [...]