King Coal is dead! - Coal is the fuel of the 18th century?
Excerpt:
Coal essentially has two purposes: Thermal coal is burned to create electricity and coking coal is used to make steel.
The former is the big one. About 87% of the world’s total hard coal production is used for power.
Yet that’s where coal faces its stiffest competition.
Coal’s dirty and inefficient. So it’s being supplanted by other sources of energy – especially natural gas.
Natural gas has always been cleaner than coal, as it releases half the carbon dioxide emissions when it’s burned. But now it’s cheaper, too. For that reason, power companies that once relied on coal are making the switch to natural gasComment: Three stocks mentioned (I don't have any of them):
When I was a kid, we had a coal-fired furance and a coal bin. The coal bin was a room about 12' x 12'. Later our furnace was converted to natural gas. The coal bin was always a dark coal-dusty place. The furance looked something like the image above. Source.
Romney on coal: U.S. coal stocks jump on Romney comments
ReplyDeleteDuring Wednesday's debate with Obama, Republican candidate Romney brought up coal during a discussion of energy policies.
"By the way, I like coal. I'm going to make sure we can continue to burn clean coal," said the former head of the private equity firm, Bain Capital.
"People in the coal industry feel like it's getting crushed by your policies," he told Obama.
In morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Arch Coal (ACI.N) rose 6.7 percent to $6.62, Alpha Natural Resources (ANR.N) shares were up 5.2 percent at $6.63, Consol Energy (CNX.N) was 4.9 percent higher at $31.18, Peabody Energy (BTU.N) gained 4.2 percent to $22.74 and Walter Energy (WLT.N) was up 4.6 percent at $32.80.