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W.Va. mine agency cites Alpha for 2012 fatality

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Alpha Natural Resources faces a proposed $6,000 civil fine for a fatal accident at one of its West Virginia mines.

UMWA continuing protests related to Patriot bankruptcy

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Active and retired members of the United Mine Workers, along with labor and community supporters, will march and rally in downtown St. Louis on Tuesday.

Consol to resume full production at Blacksville No. 2

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The mine was shut down March 12 due to fire.

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.

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.

Natural gas banking on major conversion from gasoline vehicles

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Driving, fueling and maintaining a natural gas-fired vehicle is essentially the same as a traditional vehicle. The difference is natural gas gets you there for less than half of the cost at current prices.

Rockefeller: Mine safety law will take ‘awful lot of praying'

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Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va, has been working on behalf of coal miners since 1964 when he came to work in West Virginia as a VISTA worker.

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.

US appeals court in Va. OKs WV mine permit

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A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal judge was right to rule that the Army Corps of Engineers did its due diligence when it granted the permit under the Clean Water Act.

Ohio bank enters WV energy market

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Peoples Bank of Marietta, Ohio, has formed a new department to provide financial resources to upstream and midstream energy companies, including those in West Virginia.

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.


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. 

12 WV county economies vulnerable to power plant retirements

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The economies of five counties in southern West Virginia are moderately vulnerable to market and regulatory influences and to future declines in demand for thermal coal, and seven more are marginally vulnerable, according to a new report by a Morgantown consulting firm.

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.

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.

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.

Officials mark new WV pipeline safety law

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SISSONVILLE, WV (AP) — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin held a symbolic bill signing Monday at the Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department. Tomblin had signed the bill into law on April 29.

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.

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.

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.

Central Appalachia coal recovery lags other areas for NRP

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HUNTINGTON, WV — Natural Resource Partners L.P. sees a comeback for coal in the Powder River and Illinois basins, but less of one for Central Appalachia.

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.

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.

Southern Illinois braces for "fracking" rush

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(AP) Residents are beginning to brace for change as the Illinois Legislature considers regulations that could set off a rush among energy companies to drill deep for oil and natural gas.

FrackNation film to be shown at West Liberty University

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West Liberty University's Highlands Center will show the documentary "FrackNation," at 6:30 May 6.

US rig count increases by 10 this week to 1,764

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(AP) — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by 10 this week to 1,764.

NC fracking rule pulled after Halliburton objects

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A new rule set for approval by the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission requiring some disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing has been withdrawn at the request of industry giant Halliburton.

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.

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.

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.

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.