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news continued Duke Energy's Edwardsport Begins Commercial Production Duke Energy Indiana's Edwardsport integrated gasification combined cycle plant, touted by supporters as a model for future clean-coal projects in the United States, finally began commercial operation in June, more than a year behind schedule and $1.5 billion over its original price tag in late 2007. Villified by environmentalists as a colossal boondoggle that will drive up electricity prices for Duke's approximately 790,000 customers and is not needed to meet power demands in the Midwestern state, Edwardsport's backers claimed vindication when the 618-mw baseload plant started to supply power to the grid. The $3.5 billion plant, located in a rural area of Knox County in southern Indiana, uses advanced technology to gasify coal, strip out pollutants and then burn the cleaner gas to generate electricity. Duke, a subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy, calls Edwardsport one of the world's cleanest coal-burning power plants and says the technology substantially reduces the environmental impact of burning coal to produce electric power. "Coal has powered Indiana for more than a century," said Doug Esamann, Duke Energy Indiana president. "But today's air quality standards require us to use that fuel in a cleaner, more efficient way. Edwardsport turns coal into a cleaner-burning fuel and enables us to continue using an abundant local resource." Peabody Energy's Bear Run mine in neighboring Sullivan County, Ind., is supplying high-sulfur coal to Edwardsport. Bear Tug Valley Mining Institute Awards Scholarships At the June 20 Tug Valley Mining Institute (TVMI) dinner meeting, five 2013 scholarship recipients were named. The top $6,000 scholarships were awarded to Austin Banks, Mingo Central High School, and Gideon Workman, Belfry High School. Three $1,000 scholarships were awarded to Sydney Chapman, Mingo Central High School; Casey France, Logan High School; and Courtney Lester, Mingo Central High School. Over the last 17 years, TVMI has awarded 99 students $228,250 in scholarship money. Pictured from left to right: Dr. Chris Bise, WVU; Bud Baldwin, TVMI president; Courtney Lester, Austin Banks, Gideon Workman, Casey France, and Ray Scites, TVMI treasurer. (Not pictured: Sydney Chapman). Run, the largest surface mine east of the Mississippi River, opened in 2010. It sold 7.7 million tons of coal in 2012 and has a capacity of up to 8 million tons annually. The mine produces coal from the Indiana No. 5, 6, 7 and 5A seams. As the company told the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Edwardsport represents the first time IGCC technology has been used on such a large scale in the U.S. As a result, the plant is expected to ramp up to its long-term level of availability over the next 15 months. Esamann noted that Edwardsport replaces about 500 mw of older coal-burning generation that Duke recently retired or plans to retire soon because of new Environmental Protection Agency rules. "The average age of coal-fired plants on our Indiana system is 45 years, and this facility is key to modernizing our system and filling the gap left by plant retirements," he said. According to Duke, Edwardsport produces 10 times as much power as a former coal plant at the same location that was closed a year or so ago, albeit with about 70% fewer emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulates combined. Edwardsport uses excess steam that normally would be wasted to power a second turbine and increase plant efficiency and output. It lowers carbon dioxide emissions per megawatt-hour by nearly half compared to the plant it replaced. And, it uses less water than a conventional coal-burning power plant. Duke said the plant also is a major boon to Indiana's economy. During the lengthy construction period that started in 2008, about 3,500 construction workers and other professionals were employed on the project. Edwardsport will employ about 140 fulltime workers. It will use 1.7 million to 1.9 million tons of coal annually, supporting an estimated 170 mining jobs. New Century to Reopen Whetstone New Century Coal was preparing this summer to reopen the Whetstone surface mine in Whitley County, Ky., to produce highquality Blue Gem coal. The Johnson City, Tenn.-based company, founded in 2006, did not offer a precise timetable for the resumption of production at Whetstone, nor did it indicate how much coal will be produced once the mine is up and running. Blue Gem coal, characterized by its low ash and sulfur contents as well as its hardness, is found exclusively in several southeastern Kentucky counties. Because of its purity, the coal often is exported to many different countries. New Century claims to be one of the largest reserve holders of Blue Gem coal, controlling in excess of 10 million tons of reserves. New Century said its coal is shipped to several countries, including Korea, Poland and China. Dallas McRae, New Century president, said his company has positioned itself over the past 36 months to become a leader in Blue Gem reserves. In May, the company secured an option on 2,000 acres in Kentucky's Knox and Bell counties and is evaluating the acreage's projected 5 million tons of reserves through core drillings. New Century said it is focused on expanding its mining operations in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee through prospecting, leasing and mine production. Oxford Gets its Finances in Order It took a little longer than Oxford Resource Partners had hoped, but the Columbus, Ohio-based steam coal producer successfully 12 www.coalage.com July 2013