Big U.S. Coal Miner Alpha Natural Files for Bankruptcy
August 3rd, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in NZ. I’m long Enphase Energy.
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The price of solar power will continue to fall, until it becomes the cheapest form of power in a rapidly expanding number of national markets. By 2026, utility-scale solar will be competitive for the majority of the world, according to BNEF. The lifetime cost of a photovoltaic solar-power plant will drop by almost half over the next 25 years, even as the prices of fossil fuels creep higher.
Solar power will eventually get so cheap that it will outcompete new fossil-fuel plants and even start to supplant some existing coal and gas plants, potentially stranding billions in fossil-fuel infrastructure. The industrial age was built on coal. The next 25 years will be the end of its dominance.
—The Way Humans Get Electricity Is About to Change Forever
Via: Reuters:
Alpha Natural Resources Inc, one of the largest U.S. coal companies, became the latest in the hard-hit industry to seek bankruptcy on Monday.
The move comes as President Barack Obama is expected to unveil tough new measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Alpha blamed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy on tougher regulatory standards and policies that favor renewable energy, as well tumbling prices for its coal.
Alpha is the world’s third-largest supplier of metallurgical coal used in making steel and has also been hit by a slowdown in China.
Walter Energy Inc and Patriot Coal Corp also filed for bankruptcy protection this year. Energy Future Holdings Corp, a power company that also has a large coal mining business, has been in bankruptcy since 2014.
Alpha Natural, with total liabilities of $7.11 billion, has reported adjusted losses for the past 14 quarters.
