Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Federal officials rejected a company’s bid to acquire 167 million tons of coal on public lands Montana At a price of less than a penny per ton, that would be the largest coal sale by the US government in more than a decade.
The failed sale underscores the continued low appetite for coal among utilities that are turning to cheaper natural gas and renewables like wind and solar to generate power. Emissions from burning coal are a major driver of climate change, which scientists say is causing sea levels to rise and weather to become more severe.
chairman donald trump has made revitalizing the coal industry a centerpiece of his agenda to increase US energy production. But economists say Trump’s efforts to promote coal are unlikely to reverse its years-long decline.
Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC)’s $186,000 bid last week did not meet Mineral Leasing Act requirements, the Interior Department said in a statement Tuesday.
Agency representatives did not provide further details, and it is unclear whether they will try to reschedule the sale.
Under the Leasing Act bids are required to be at or above fair market value. In the last successful government lease sale in the field, a subsidiary of Peabody Energy paid $793 million, or $1.10 per ton, for 721 million tons of coal. Wyoming,
chairman Joe BidenThe administration sought to end coal sales in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming, citing climate change.
The second proposed lease sale under Trump – 440 million tons of coal near the NTEC mine in central Wyoming – was postponed last week after a low bid was received in the Montana sale. Interior Department officials have not said when the Wyoming sale will be rescheduled.
NTEC is owned by the Navajo Nation of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
In documents presented for the Montana sale, NTEC indicated that the price of coal was too low due to declining demand for the fuel. associated Press Emailed a company representative regarding the rejected bid.
Most power plants that use fuel from NTEC’s Spring Creek mine in Montana and the Antelope mine in Wyoming will stop burning coal in the next decade, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
Spring Creek also ships coal overseas to customers in Asia. Increasing those shipments could help ease domestic demand, but a lack of port capacity has hampered the industry’s former aspirations to boost coal exports.