Coal Age Magazine - For more than 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.
Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/1009142
8 www.coalage.com July/August 2018 news continued Henderson Municipal Power & Light, the local utility, is ex- pected later this summer to issue a formal request for propo- sals to see if another party is interested in running Station Two. If not, the plant most likely will be retired before the end of 2019. Then, there is Big Rivers' 443-MW Coleman coal plant near Hawesville in Hancock County, Kentucky. For economic reasons, Coleman has been idled for the past four years, although it is be- ing kept in a state of readiness in the event of a restart. While Big Rivers has not determined if Coleman will generate electricity again, Keach called the plant "a valuable asset." Vectren Coal Plant Retirement Continues Trend of Closings Vectren Corp.'s reaffirmation this summer of its plans to retire about 70% of its coal-burning generation fleet in 2023 continues a recent trend of coal plant closings in a conservative Midwestern state where coal long has been king. Unlike Indiana's largest electric utilities — Duke Energy In- diana, Indiana Michigan Power and Indianapolis Power & Light and Northern Indiana Public Service Co. — Evansville-based Vec- tren exclusively serves the southwestern part of the state, home of the Indiana coal industry. For decades, coal mining has provided some of the best-paying jobs in the region. But the energy market, as is Vectren, is in transition these days, even in Indiana. Utilities are adding more renewables, es- pecially solar, as well as new natural gas-fired generation. Vectren wants to spend $800 million to build an 865-megawatt (MW ) gas plant to replace the coal units it is retiring in five years. Well before then, Vectren most likely will be a subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy. The big Texas utility is in the process of ac- quiring Vectren in a $6 billion transaction. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019. Probably about that time, if not sooner, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission will issue a final order on Vectren's latest integrated resource plan, a long-range planning document that details plans to shutter the A.B. Brown coal plant in Posey County and all but the 270-MW Unit 3 at its F.B. Culley coal plant on the east side of Evansville in Warrick County. In 2023, Vectren also will exit an ownership agreement with Alcoa Inc. in a 150-megawatt coal unit at the Warrick power plant also in Warrick County. Cloud Peak Energy Inc. announced that Bruce Jones, currently Cloud Peak Energy's senior vice president, technical services, was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Corsa Coal Corp. appointed Matthew Schicke as its chief commercial officer and the promotion of Fred Cushmore to the role of vice president, head of inter- national sales. Previously, Schicke was the head of Americas for the Coal Division at Noble Americas Corp., a division of the Hong Kong- based commodities trading group, Noble Group Ltd. Cushmore has been with the company since Oc- tober 2016 and, prior to the promo- tion, has served as vice president of metallurgical exports for Corsa's Northern Appalachia Division. The National Mining Association (NMA) welcomed a new senior director of communications, Conor Bernstein, following the departures of Luke Popovich and Jamie Caswell. The NMA also hired a new manager of trade shows, meetings and membership, Katie Coon. Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Bruce Watzman will be retiring at the end of July. Matthew Brickey joined NMA in June as the new director of air quality. Most recently, he was an environmental specialist with Forsyth Coun- ty's (North Carolina) Department of Environmental Assistance and Pro- tection. Tom Harman joined NMA as the new senior director, safety and health. Most recently, he was a special assistant in the metal/nonmetal division at the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The World Coal Association announced CEO Benja- min Sporton is leaving the organization in September. Sporton will become the head of the Global Cement and Concrete Association. WCA Communications and Strategy Director Katie Warrick will serve as interim CEO during the transition period. George Sidney, president and COO of McLanahan Corp., has announced his plans to retire at the end of 2018. He will remain an active part of McLanahan's board of directors. Upon his re- tirement, Sean McLanahan's title will change to president and CEO. Cory Jenson has been named exec- utive vice president of sales and business development, a new po- sition that will directly manage the sales and business development of the company's global offices, as well as overseeing the product management and marketing and communications teams. Jenson has been with McLanahan since 2009, most recently as vice president of product management and develop- ment. With Jenson's internal move, Brian Prenatt has been promoted to vice president of product management and development. After more than 30 years of service in mine safety and health research, Mike Brnich, lead engineer of the Technology Integration Team at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, is retiring. Commissioner Nick Wagner of the Iowa Utilities Board was appointed to the executive committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). Wag- ner was appointed to the IUB by Gov. Terry Branstad on March 24, 2013, to fill a term ending on April 30, 2019. At NARUC, he is co-chair of the Washington Action Program, co-vice chair of the Committee on Critical Infrastructure, and a member of the Com- mittee on Gas. Nick Wagner m p e o p l e i n t h e n e w s Bruce Jones Matthew Schicke Fred Cushmore George Sidney Sean McLanahan Cory Jenson Brian Prenatt Katie Warrick