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recent years to buy out other producers, Solar officials figura- tively and literally kept their heads down and did what they do best — mine coal as inexpensively as possible. They plan to continue to do that in 2016. Now, though, as Bowman acknowledged, they also are "looking for opportuni- ties," most likely distressed assets Solar could snap up at a frac- tion of their original value and profitably incorporate into its portfolio. Judge Orders New Review of Cloud Peak's Spring Creek A federal judge in Montana is ordering the government to look again at a proposal by Cloud Peak Energy (CPE) to expand its Spring Creek operation in Montana by 117 million tons follow- ing a suit by environmentalists claiming it would be environ- mentally detrimental. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters in Billings said in a ruling handed down January 22 that the Department of Interior (DOI) now has nine months to re-examine CPE's permit, reportedly saying that it "failed to take a hard look" at the expansion ini- tially, according to the Associated Press. She also said that the agency violated public notice provisions in its handling of the mine's application. Judge Watters' decision parallels previous recommenda- tions of U.S. Magistrate Carolyn Ostby, who was tasked with reviewing the case against CPE filed last year by environmen- talists including WildEarth Guardians. The groups' complaint, b a s e d o n c l a i m s o f c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o c l i m a t e c h a n g e , a l s o includes 10 other mines in a total of five U.S. states. However, despite recommendations of a six-month exten- sion by Ostby, Watters has offered more time for the DOI's review after department officials said it would need it to com- plete the work. At the same time, she has ordered monthly progress reports, The Missoulian reported. Should the Spring Creek expansion be canceled, CPE has already said that most of its 275 workers would be laid off. The project was set to keep the operation producing through 2022, perhaps longer. S p r i n g C r e e k , a t h e r m a l s u r f a c e c o m p l e x l o c a t e d n e a r Decker, extracts from the 80-ft-thick Anderson-Dietz seam. It shipped about 17.4 million tons in 2014. Peabody Sells Interest in Prairie State Energy Campus Citing its plan to divest noncore assets and reshape its portfolio, Peabody Energy announced late January 21 that it is selling its 5.06% interest in the Prairie State Energy Campus (PSEC) in Illinois to the Wabash Valley Power Association in a $57 million deal. The St. Louis producer and the Indiana-based generation and transmission cooperative have inked a definitive agree- ment on the deal for the 1,600-megawatt (MW) plant and asso- ciated coal mine, which is located in Washington, St. Clair and Randolph counties in the southwestern region of the state. The transaction is subject to closing adjustments, but is expected to close sometime in the second quarter. Peabody first announced in the fourth quarter of last year that it would divest noncore assets via a competitive bidding process. Since the second quarter of 2015, and including the PSEC transaction, Peabody said that it has collected total proceeds of $500 million from its asset sales. That includes the $358 million sale of its El Segundo surface mine in New Mexico and the Twentymile longwall complex in Colorado for $358 million in cash, a deal which is still awaiting final closing details. It also includes $70 million in "ongoing resource manage- ment activities," it said, tied to sales of reserves and surplus land. Its Wilkie Creek sale in Queensland, Australia, has been delayed due to buyer financing. "Peabody continues to evaluate its portfolio to target the best market base, with a filter that includes strategic fit, value consideration, growth and cash requirements as the company turns greater focus on its core mining assets in the Powder River Basin, Illinois Basin and Australia," officials said. Prairie State is one of the cleanest coal-fueled plants in the nation. Longwall Idled at CONSOL's Bailey complex Company officials have confirmed that no layoffs will come as a result of a decision to temporarily idle one of five longwalls a t C O N S O L E n e r g y ' s B a i l e y c o m p l e x i n s o u t h w e s t e r n Pennsylvania. Spokesman Brian Aiello said January 18 that 200 workers are impacted by the move, but that all will have the option to accept other employment duties at the complex, located in Greene and Washington counties. "The Bailey complex tons are 93% contracted for 2016, so this is a temporary measure due to the warm winter so far," Aiello said. "[It is] designed to optimize our operating schedule, better sync up customer delivery schedules with inventories and operate more efficiently." CONSOL has not elaborated on a timeline for restart. The Bailey complex is under the umbrella of CONSOL's Pennsylvania Operations arm. Combined, the three neighbor- ing sites — Bailey, Harvey and Enlow Fork — produced 22.8 mil- lion tons in 2015, according to company data. n e w s c o n t i n u e d C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S March 21-22, 2016: 24 th Annual Coal Properties and Investment Conference, Hyatt Regency, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Contact: Platts. Email: registration@platts.com; Web: platts.com/coalproperties. March 21-24, 2016: National Western Mining Conference and Expo, Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colorado. Contact: Web: www.coloradomining.org. April 11-17, 2016: bauma, Messe Munchen, Munich, Germany. Contact: Web: www.bauma.de. April 25-27, 2016: Coal Prep 2016, Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky. Contact: Web: www.coalprepshow.com. May 1-4, 2016: Canadian Institute of Mining, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Contact: Web: www.cim.org. September 26-28, 2016: MINExpo INTERNATIONAL 2016, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact: Web: www.minexpo.com. October 10-12, 2016: Coal Handling & Storage, Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, St. Louis, Missouri. Contact: Tim Fearney, tfearney@mining-media.com. 14 www.coalage.com February 2016