| January 2017
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In This Issue |
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Association News
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Industry News
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Training and Education
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Calendar of Events
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American Coal Magazine
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Technology / R&D
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Association News
The American Coal Council (ACC) strongly opposes the Department of the Interior’s December 19, decision to issue its stream rule, following years in the regulatory pipeline amid widespread concerns from the coal industry, states, and other stakeholders. The release of the rule in the waning term of the Obama administration is unfortunate. If left unchecked, its consequences will be far more unfortunate.
Predictably, as with many rules issued by the current administration, this rule will not result in environmental improvement. What it will do is severely and unnecessarily limit the ability to mine and develop America’s world class coal reserves, a resource critical to U.S. energy, economic, and national security. It will cause massive coal-related job loss and slash federal and local taxes generated from coal production.
It must be a top priority for the new Trump Administration and Congress to rescind this devastating rule, and the American Coal Council urgently requests their cooperative efforts do so.
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We invite you to attend the American Coal Council's 2017 Spring Coal Forum, to be held March 7 - 9, 2017 at the new Opal Sands Resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida!
The Spring Coal Forum has been one of the highlights of the coal industry calendar and features presentations from coal suppliers, utilities, railroads and energy traders, along with industry-wide perspectives from leading consultants and government representatives.
REGISTRATION
- Early Bird Registration: $795 members and $1,120 prospective members - Early Bird Registration deadline is February 10, 2017
- Regular Registration: $905 members and $1,255 prospective members - beginning February 11, 2017
- Spouse Registration: $50
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Congratulations and welcome to the newly-elected members of the American Coal Council Board of Directors whose terms begin January 2017. We appreciate the commitment of these volunteer industry leaders who support and guide ACC’s programs, activities, and advocacy.
With deep appreciation, we thank outgoing board members Donna Cerwonka of CSX Transportation and Brian Miles of United Bulk Terminals as well as Sam Johnson, formerly of CONSOL Energy, for their contributions to the ACC Board and organization.
Our 2017 Board of Directors is:
PRESIDENTMike Siebers, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Peabody Energy (2013-2017)
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Matt Schicke, Head of U.S. Coal, Noble Americas Corp. (2013-2017)
COAL SUPPLIERS
Adam Anderson, Vice President Marketing/Sales, Armstrong Energy (2016-2018)
Elliott Batson, Vice President Business Development and CCO, Hallador Energy Company (2015-2017)
Scott Spears, Chief Executive Officer, Jesse Creek Mining, LLC (2017-2019)
COAL CONSUMERS
Benjamin Baughan, Senior Market Originator, Dominion Generation (2016-2018)
Christian Dueweke, Category Manager, LafargeHolcim US (2015-2017)
H. Craig Romer, Director Fuel Supply Operations, Xcel Energy (2017-2019)
Rob Hardman, Vice President – Coal Supply, Dynegy (2017-2019)
TRANSPORTATION
Todd Nuelle, Director Sales & Marketing U.S. Coal, Bulk, CN Railway (2015- 2017)
Scott Becnel, Director Energy Sales and Business Development, Cooper Consolidated, LLC (2017-2019)
Jennifer Sackson, Asst. Vice President Coal Marketing, BNSF Railway (2017-2019)
ENERGY TRADERS
Kimberly Chilcote, Manager Fuel Procurement, AEP Energy Supply (2015-2017)
Pat Panzarino, Vice President Trading, Trammo, Inc. (2016-2018)
COAL SUPPORT SERVICES
Buddy Hancock, Sales & Quality Manager, US Minerals, SGS North America (2015-2017)
Leonard Marsico, Partner & Coal Team Leader, McGuireWoods LLP (2015-2017)
Scott Smith, Senior Sales Leader North America, GE Power & Water (2016-2018)
AT LARGE
Ken Riddle, Supervisor of Chemical Processes, Lakeland Electric (2016-2018)
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 Have you checked out the ACC’s social media outlets lately?
Please be sure to follow @AmericanCoal. Tweet "shout outs" and links to @AmericanCoal, along with coal-related hashtags: #coal, #climate, #CCS, #CCT, etc.
Please be sure to like and share ACC’s page and posts with your company and personal accounts.
If your company has tech or social media savvy employees, or employees with graphic design capabilities who are willing to donate time to help prepare infographics, social media posts, write articles, etc., please let the ACC know – info@americancoalcouncil.org.
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 Each year we publish a Membership Directory with contact information for each of our member companies.
As a benefit of membership, we make this Directory available for ACC members to download (in PDF format). Click here or on the graphic below to download the 2016 Membership Directory.
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 The ACC's 2015 Tomorrow's Leadership Council recently developed a "Coal Communications Kit" to help coal advocates educate, inform, build bridges, and counter misinformation about coal. This document provides ideas and information that coal industry employees and others can use to improve communications and relations with others in the public realm.
Whether you're on an airplane, at a business or community event, or seeking to inform relatives and friends, coal advocates now have useful facts and information to assist them in communicating the importance, value, and benefits of coal in U.S. energy production.
- Technological improvements in the coal industry
- Airborne emissions and emissions reduction
- Scalability of coal as an energy resource
- Comparisons of coal vs. other fuels/energy resources
- Coal’s role in grid reliability
- Climate change
- Costs of not using coal
- Coal's role in international trade
- Impacts of mining coal
- Coal and resource depletion
- EPA regulations
- Pollution in China
The Coal Communication Kit provides ready responses to commonly held negative notions about coal. It offers convenient "elevator speeches", Facebook posts, and Tweets, as well as more detailed information and resources.
We’re confident coal advocates will find this information useful and easy to share. Be sure to check out the Coal Communications Kit, use it in your discussions with friends, the media, elected officials, and others. Then, please be sure to share the Coal Communications Kit on your social media accounts. Spread the information around so everyone can access it!
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Thank you to our Champion Sponsors!!
Thank you to our Patron Sponsors!!
You are invited to join an exclusive group of American Coal Council (ACC) member companies who have elevated their level of commitment to the ACC through their Annual Sponsorship support. In doing so, these companies have also gained recognition as industry leaders in supporting the ACC’s objective to advance the development and utilization of coal as an economic, abundant and environmentally sound fuel source.
Click here to learn more about the benefits and opportunities associated with an annual ACC sponsorship.
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Industry News
 President-elect Trump will likely start rolling back eight years of Obama administration climate regulations and restrictions on coal, oil and gas development
The U.S. may be on the cusp of a stark turning point in energy and climate policy with the election of Donald Trump, who has stocked his cabinet with a majority of people who doubt or reject established climate science.
Top priorities of the Trump transition team and cabinet nominees — many who disregard the connection between global warming and fossil fuel energy use — include rolling back eight years of Obama administration climate regulations and restrictions on coal, oil and gas development.
Trump’s energy plan reads like a wish list from the fossil fuel industry: it envisions unfettered oil, gas and coal development as a path to national prosperity and energy independence. Gone are Obama-era overtures to address climate change by modernizing fossil fuel use and development, and embracing ambitious renewable energy goals.
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By William Yeatman A foundation principle behind the structure of the U.S. government, as provided by the Constitution, is that human beings are power hungry. In separating the powers inherent to government and also empowering each branch with checks over the other, the Founding Fathers’ idea was to counteract ambition with ambition, and thereby keep any one of the three branches from gaining ascendancy over the others.
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President-Elect Trump’s choice of Rick Perry to run the Department of Energy is good news for people who believe–or want to believe–that the federal government’s Department of Energy was formed at the end of the 1970s because voters were tired of our abject dependence on foreign oil and its associated entanglements.
It is likely to be a huge disappointment for those who are more comfortable with the DOE as it exists today, with very little in the way of energy production or innovative energy research attributable to the $30 billion taxpayers spend on its annual budget.
The dirty little secret known to many inside the energy industry and few outside of the industry is that less than 1/5th (18%) of the Department of Energy’s nearly $30 billion/year budget is spent on programs in the "Energy" category. The other 4/5ths is spent on programs in the categories of Nuclear Security (43%), Science (18%), and Environmental Management (19%) plus a hodgepodge of "Other (2%)." Learn More...
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By Perth (Platts) Volatility is the watchword for the thermal coal market in 2017 following a turbulent 2016 when Beijing's self-imposed production constraints fueled a massive rise in thermal coal prices right across the Asian seaborne market in the second half of 2016. As has been the pattern for the past several years, China -- or more specifically the actions and influence of its central government -- has been a strong deciding factor in the direction of the Asian market.
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U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) introduced a resolution today to force Congress to take an up-or-down vote on an anti-coal regulation just finalized by the Obama administration. Representative Jenkins’ joint resolution of congressional disapproval would require a simple majority vote of each chamber on the stream buffer zone rule.
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By Ben Levisohn
Coal prices had been surging this year, giving a big boost to coal companies. Coal prices, however, have been tumbling the past few days and Axiom Capital’s Gordon Johnson contends we could be witnessing the end of the rally...and the iron ore rally with it. He explains why.
Based on information released yesterday, China is considering raising the 2017 steel and coal capacity-cut targets by 10%. Simply put, this means more steel and coal production from China next year. Learn More...
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What the Media Says – 
"Coal-fired power plants do not use clean coal technology."
The Reality –
There are 16 clean coal technologies being used today by the U.S. coal fleet. These include wet and dry scrubbers to reduce SO2 emissions, selective and non-selective catalytic reduction to reduce NOx emissions, and electrostatic precipitators and fabric filter technology to reduce PM. Every coal-fired power plant in the U.S. uses one or more clean coal technologies. Source: American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.
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Training and Education
The ACC’s Tomorrow’s Leadership Council (TLC) is designed to advance and vest executive talent in the coal industry. TLC is an annual program designed to provide a meaningful opportunity for up-and-coming executives to enhance their industry knowledge and networks through projects and activities that advance industry-wide objectives as well as professional development goals.
The TLC program, which launched in 2009, has "graduated" more than 120 executives from 50 companies throughout the coal supply chain.
We welcome member and nonmember companies to register their entry-level staff and mid-level executives for this one of a kind professional development program. They will have the opportunity to meet and engage with others in the coal supply, consumption, transportation, and trading sectors, as well as those working in companies that partner with and support these business sectors.
The TLC program is open to all coal-related companies and organizations, with a discount for ACC member company participants. The program cost is $1,750 for ACC members and $2,250 for non-members.
Participants benefit from professional development seminars, ACC conference attendance, special networking dinners, and the opportunity to work on a collaborative group project with others in the program.
Additional program and registration information is available on the ACC website. Please also call or email Betsy Monseu, ACC CEO, at 202.756.4540 or bmonseu@americancoalcouncil.org with any questions or comments.
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Happier Days are Here Again: Tailwinds for Coal Demand 2017-2018
Steve Piper, Director, Energy Research
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
2-3 p.m. Eastern
What a difference a year makes! Will recent marketplace changes provide greater opportunities for coal in 2017 and 2018? How might markets be impacted as a result of the historic presidential election and an improving policy and regulatory environment?
Join us as Steve Piper returns to the ACC Coal Q&A series to provide the latest 
perspective on coal markets for 2017 and 2018. Steve will address:
- Competition between coal and natural gas: recent market overview and implications of forward price spreads
- Growth opportunities for coal given developments in natural gas, nuclear power, and renewables
- Production impacts of seaborne coal rally
- President-elect Trump’s lifeline to the industry
- Quarterly demand/production outlook to 2018
There is no charge for members of the
American Coal Council, but pre-registration is required.
Non-members may register for a fee of $50.
Space is limited to the first 50 registrants. Register TODAY!
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Calendar of Events
Mark your calendars for these upcoming 2017 ACC events:
- Spring Coal Forum — March 7-9, 2017, Sandpearl Resort (Clearwater, Florida)
- Coal Market Strategies — August 14-16, 2017, Stein Erikson Lodge (Park City, Utah)
- Coal Trading Conference with CTA — December 4-5, 2017, Crowne Plaza Times Square (New York, NY)
Be sure to watch the events page on the ACC website for registration and event information for our conferences and monthly webcast programs.
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American Coal Magazine
The fall edition of the American Coal magazine, published by the American Coal Council is now available.
If you are interested in obtaining a free digital copy please click the on the link above.
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 The American Coal Council and Naylor Association Solutions have partnered together to provide the American coal industry with a wide variety of print, digital, and online advertising opportunities.
Be sure to check out our Media Guide & Rate Card with all the information that you need to advertise in any of our publications.
Remember that ACC Members receive a 10% discount on all advertising rates listed in our Media Guide.
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