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Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/131326
news continued Germany may be a prospective purchaser of Illinois coal. Several new coal-burning power plants are being built in Germany, including by E.ON, that country's largest power producer, and RWE, the biggest user of coal in Europe. LG&E; Will Install Scrubber at Mill Creek Concluding the new proposal is less expensive, Kentucky regulators in February approved Louisville Gas & Electric Co.'s (LG&E;) revised request to construct a new wet scrubber system on Unit 3 at its 1,717-mw Mill Creek coal-fired power plant near Louisville instead of rehabilitating an existing aging scrubber on Mill Creek Unit 4. In amending a certificate of public convenience and necessity previously awarded to the PPL Corp. subsidiary in December 2011, the Public Service Commission accepted LG&E;'s testimony that the utility stands to save almost $30 million by installing the new scrubber by early summer of 2016 to comply with a one-hour sulfur-dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard. The reduction in SO2 emissions is required by Kentucky's state implementation plan for Jefferson County, the home of Louisville. In addition, the new scrubber is expected to enable the power plant to meet the Environmental Protection Agency's new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule. LG&E; initially estimated it would cost about $74 million to refurbish the Unit 4 scrubber. Subsequently, the utility obtained further detailed engineering studies and cost estimates that placed the price tag for upgrading the existing scrubber at $161 million. LG&E; also determined the capital cost to build a new scrubber on Unit 3 would be $132 million. According to LG&E;, the higher Unit 4 project cost included an estimated $70 million by Babcock Power Environmental for the direct cost of engineering, procuring and installing the engineered equipment; an estimated $33 million by Zachry Holdings, LG&E;'s engineering contractor, for "balance of plant" scope, scrubber foundations, instru- % 2 0 1 3 The Indian Export Deal for Kentucky Sees Further Delays A mega-coal export deal between FJS Energy, a U.S. natural resources development company, and India's Abhijeet Group, unveiled with much fanfare last August, has yet to see the first ton of Central Appalachian coal loaded onto barges for the long journey across the ocean. No one knows, or at least is saying, when the shipments will start. Or, for that matter, if they will begin at all in 2013. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat from western Kentucky's coal country, announced the $7 billion, 25-year privatesector agreement last summer, at the time touting the transaction as an example of the Commonwealth's aggressive efforts to market one of its most valuable "home grown" commodities – coal – overseas. When deliveries did not start last September as initially expected, some of the principals involved shrugged off the delay, saying it was only a matter of time before Abhijeet would give the final go-ahead for the coal to start flowing, mostly from steam A W A R D S Kemmerer Recognized for Safety by MSHA Westmoreland Coal Co. officials announced the Kemmerer mine in far southwest Wyoming has been recognized by the Mine Safety and Health Administration with a Certificate of Achievement in Safety for the coal processing facility group completing all of fiscal year 2011 without a single lost work day. The coal processing group continued an "exemplary performance" without a lost work day, said Senior Vice President of Coal Operations Joseph E. Micheletti. "We are proud of the entire Kemmerer workforce and their commitment to safety." The Kemmerer mine is a 13,400-acre truck and shovel complex supplying coal to the Naughton Power Station by conveyor and industrial customers by rail or truck. Staffed by 300 workers, its annual average output is 4.8 million tons. Peabody Energy's Twentymile & Cottage Grove Mines Honored with President's Safety Awards Peabody Energy announced its Twentymile and Cottage Grove mines have earned President's Safety Awards for achieving the company's best U.S. safety performance for underground and surface operations in 2012. These operations helped drive the best safety results in Peabody's 130-year history. 18 www.coalage.com ment and electrical work, ductwork improvements, balance of plant structural steel replacements and HVAC; and an additional $58 million estimated by Zachry for stack impacts, spare parts, balance of plant engineering, overheads, labor, escalation and administration and general expense. Last September, LG&E; received a study from Zachry that estimated the cost to install a new scrubber on Unit 3 would be $113.5 million. Besides that cost, LG&E; estimated that if a new scrubber was constructed on Unit 3, another $18 million would be necessary for auxiliary power impacts, distributed control systems, chimney impacts, balance of plant, overheads, escalation, spare parts and administrative and general expenses, for a total new scrubber cost of $132 million. LG&E; spokesman Brian Phillips said construction on the new Unit 3 scrubber is scheduled to start in November 2014. Twentymile employees were recognized for achieving a 0.96 incident rate, a new record for Peabody underground operations. Twentymile's safety rate is less than one-third the U.S. average for all coal mines, based on the latest data. This year's award marks the third time Twentymile achieved the President's Award since 2005. Twentymile is located in Routt County, Colo., and employs approximately 500 workers. The Cottage Grove mine has achieved more than 17 months without a reportable injury and is among four Peabody operations that have operated more than one year incident free. Recognized for excellence in safety and stewardship, Cottage Grove also was honored by the U.S. Department of the Interior for restoration of prime farmland this past year. Cottage Grove is located in Saline County, Ill., and employs more than 150 workers. "Twentymile and Cottage Grove set a high standard for excellence in safety," said Peabody Energy-Americas President Kemal Williamson. "I'm proud of our employees for working toward our safety vision of zero incidents of any kind. Every worker deserves to go home safely every day." Globally, Peabody achieved a 1.82 safety rate per 200,000 hours worked, a 9% improvement from 2011 levels. The President's Award for Safety is Peabody's highest safety honor for its Americas platform. March 2013