Grounded Blog - Business, Government Legal News from throughout WV

Unions, ratepayers rally outside FirstEnergy shareholder meeting

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Directors were re-elected and shareholder measures on executive pay and corporate governance failed, while demonstrators outside protested labor practices, Mon Power's purchase of Harrison plant. More>>

FirstEnergy: Harrison may run less if Mon Power doesn’t buy it

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Following May 17 rebuttal testimony and a coming hearing on Mon Power's bid to buy Harrison power station, the PSC will decide if a billion-dollar coal plant is the best answer to future power demand. More>>

Chemical industry reports shale driving investments

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A new report from the American Chemistry Council says expansion in shale gas plays are driving investments in chemical manufacturing to the tune of bout $71.7 billion in investments, including in West Virginia. More>>

GreenHunter price structure encourages gas industry brine re-use

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The gas industry brine processing facility GreenHunter Water proposes to build and operate in Wheeling would, in a sense, pay operators to take their clean brine back out with them. More>>

CNG consistently cheaper than gasoline

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Compressed natural gas has cost less than 60 percent as much as gasoline, on an energy-equivalent basis, over the past few years. Several public CNG stations are in development in West Virginia. More>>

Are air pollution exemptions harming air quality?

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DEP says industrial facility exemptions to air quality limits during startup, shutdown and malfunction should remain in the law. The Sierra Club says those emissions should be counted.
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Religious-labor group says Patriot at war with the old and ill

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Interfaith Worker Justice and the Religious Leaders for Coalfield Justice claim that Arch and Peabody Coal are waging a war on the aging, ill and disabled.


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Report: Consumer support for wind, solar dropped in 2012

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A new report out from market researcher Navigant Research found a slight drop in consumer support for developing wind and solar energy.  More>>

Rahall legislation would limit EPA authority on mine permits

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The bill, which was introduced but failed in 2011, responds to an appeals court affirmation last month of the agency's ability to rescind Clean Water Act permits that already have been issued. More>>

WV, other states more energy efficient over the past decade

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Most states became less "energy intensive" from 2000 to 2010, using less energy to produce the same amount of value, new data show. Ideally, that doesn't happen by shipping manufacturing overseas. More>>

EIA: Coal exports falling from 2012’s record

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Strengthening trends in domestic demand lead the agency to increase its production forecasts for 2013 and 2014, including for Appalachia, though nowhere near the highs of 2008. More>>

Garvin: Oil and gas hazardous waste exemption could be at risk

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State oil and gas regulators need to submit to reviews of their regulations by STRONGER, Inc., or feds could step in, West Virginian and board member Don Garvin will tell a Senate committee May 23. More>>

Harrison price four times recent coal-fired plant transactions

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Three deals in the past year that included 10 coal-fired power plants came in at far lower prices. More>>

Natural gas vehicle conference starts Monday

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Interested in taking a spin in a natural gas vehicle? The public will have the opportunity to test a natural gas vehicle at a conference next week. More>>

Good science, market savvy make for successful battery start-up

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Scientist-entrepreneur Jay Whitacre, founder of Aquion Energy outside Pittsburgh, was very deliberate in his approach to a marketable grid-scale battery. More>>

FirstEnergy earnings down first quarter, year over year

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The company reported first quarter 2013 GAAP earnings of $0.47 per share, compared with $0.73 per share in the first quarter of 2012. More>>

EPA revises interest conflict review

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The Environmental Protection Agency said it has improved its review of conflict of interest for contractor-managed peer reviews. More>>

Amid protest, GreenHunter pursues Wheeling frack fluid plant

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Some residents don't like the site, a mile up the Ohio River from the city's drinking water intake. The company said there are safeguards, and using barges would reduce the considerable truck traffic. More>>

Alpha Natural Resources loses $111 million in first quarter

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Alpha Natural Resources reported a net loss of $111 million in first three months of 2013, but touted strong operational execution and safety performance. More>>

Ethane pIpelines out well ahead of local cracking capacity

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More than 80 percent of proposed new capacity for making ethylene is in the Gulf region. Pipelines coming online 2013-15 will send a lot of ethane out of the Marcellus before a cracker can be built. More>>

Chesapeake ‘off to a strong start’ in 2013

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Chesapeake Energy, one of the largest stakeholders in the Marcellus shale gas plays says first quarter earning suggest a good year for Chesapeake. More>>

Feds clear way for transfer of Amos and Mitchell to ApCO

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Both the FirstEnergy and the AEP plans to transfer ownership of coal-fired generation capacity from unregulated Ohio to regulated West Virginia subsidiaries now rest in state regulators' hands. More>>

McConnell unveils measure to help coal industry

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Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled legislation Monday aimed at forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to expedite the process for coal companies seeking permits to open new mines. More>>

WV PSC Staff analyst: Harrison power plant two times too expensive

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Get up to speed on the points in Mon Power's petition to buy the Harrison coal-fired power station before the May 29-31 hearing. ApCO ratepayers pay attention: your similar case is not far behind. More>>

In mineral ownership case, PA Supreme Court maintains stability

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With the PA Supreme Court's April 24 decision in Baker v. Powers, shale gas is affirmed independent of the rock, leases across the state remain in place and property law stability is maintained. More>>

Undertapped market for natural gas: combined heat and power

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Co-generation of heat and power at industrial and other facilities could use natural gas, said panelists at a WVU Center for Energy and Sustainable Development conference; barriers must be overcome. More>>

AEP 1Q2013: Operating earnings flat with 2012

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Residential and commercial demand have been strong, said chief executive Nick Akins; unmoving industrial demand is an ongoing challenge and requires cost discipline and process improvements. More>>

UMWA takes Patriot fairness fight to the West

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More than a dozen coal miners are attending the annual shareholder meetings of Arch Coal and Peabody Energy to implore the companies' board members to fulfill obligations that could potentially be lost in the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal. More>>

OSM says it’s too early to release potentially critical slurry data

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Citizen organizers hosted a press conference expressing concern with the construction methods used in building coal slurry dams, but the study they obtained, the Office of Surface Mining states, is not ready for release. More>>

EQT production up, impressed with performance of WV wells

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The company reported first quarter year-over-year production sales volume growth of 47 percent on April 25, with Marcellus sales volume growth of 103 percent. More>>

Slurry dam construction integrity questioned

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A new report by federal surface mine regulators obtained by the Sludge Safety Project indicates there are some concern about the way West Virginia coal slurry dams are built. More>>

Rockefeller re-introduces mine safety legislation

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Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is trying again to pass a large package of mine safety measures in the wake of the Upper Big Branch explosion that occurred more than three years ago. More>>

  • Energy Reads

  • Tuesday, September 25 2012 5:07 PM EDT2012-09-25 21:07:18 GMT
    Here are a few energy stories compiled from around the web. 3 Glowing Uranium Stocks "In the face of fluctuating energy prices and changing regulation, going nuclear may be a good strategy for you. Energy
    Energy stories from around the web.
  • Monday, August 27 2012 5:25 PM EDT2012-08-27 21:25:57 GMT
    Energy links from around the Web: Study: Carbon tax could raise $1.5 trillion "Taxing carbon would generate $1.5 trillion, potentially giving politicians cover from making politically difficult decisions
    Energy links from around the Web.
  • Tuesday, July 31 2012 5:36 PM EDT2012-07-31 21:36:21 GMT
    Links to energy stories from around the web:  New EIA Chief Says Coal Hurt Most by Cheap NatGas Prices "The new head of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) believes that cheap natural gas prices
    Energy stories from around the web. 
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