LEXINGTON, KY–Anheuser-Busch is running a Super Bowl commercial claiming that Budweiser is “now brewed with wind power for a better tomorrow.” Budweiser beer cans now say “brewed with 100% renewable electricity from wind power.”

According to Tyler White, President of the Kentucky Coal Association, “Actually, Budweiser is brewed with mostly fossil fuels.”

Two-thirds of the energy used to brew Budweiser is industrial heat (not electricity), which Anheuser-Busch admits comes from “a mixture of energy sources including natural gas.”

Only one-third is electricity–and even most of that doesn’t come from wind. Because wind is an erratic energy source, no electric grid on Earth uses it as a primary fuel.

But according to White, “Anheuser-Busch and other publicity-seeking companies want to pretend they are 100% wind. So they pay power companies to give them credit for the wind power others use–and give others the blame for all the coal, natural gas, and nuclear power that Anheuser-Busch uses. This unjust scam is called ‘renewable electricity credits.’ Anheuser-Busch buys credits from a wind project near Billing, Oklahoma–even though no Budweiser beer is brewed in Oklahoma.”

When companies like Anheuser-Busch, Facebook, Apple, and Google lie about their energy usage by claiming to use 100% wind or solar, they encourage dangerous policies to prohibit the use of reliable power sources like coal, gas, and nuclear.

“Anheuser-Busch should pull its Super Bowl commercial,” says White, “and apologize to all Americans—including the workers of the coal, natural gas, and nuclear industries—for its ‘100% wind powered’ lie.”

Lexington – The following statement may be attributed to Tyler White, President of the Kentucky Coal Association, in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed revisions to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for carbon dioxide emissions from new coal-fired power plants.

“This reasonable proposal is vital to keeping Americans safe by ensuring that our nation can construct efficient, reliable and resilient new coal-fired power plants.   Coal is the backbone of American energy, providing 30 percent of the nation’s energy and nearly 80 percent of Kentucky’s.  If adopted, the proposed NSPS will ensure that coal can continue to provide grid resiliency and security for American energy dominance for years to come through the use of demonstrated technologies rather than technologies that remain unproven and uneconomical.”

 -Tyler White

“If adopted, the proposed NSPS — established under Section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act — would replace the current NSPS that were adopted in 2015.  The current NSPS are based on the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which is a promising but not economically viable technology for coal-fired power plants.  Requiring the use of CCS technology effectively banned new coal plants by making them prohibitively expensive.”

-American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity

By: Tyler White

Facebook and Twitter testified before Congress Wednesday on issues of data, privacy and censorship. But there is another propaganda effort led by Big Tech that poses a threat to our nation.

Earlier this week, Facebook announced its global operations will be powered with “100 percent renewable energy by the end of 2020.” In April, Apple said that it already is “globally powered by 100 percent renewable energy.” Similar claims have been made by other tech leaders including Google, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco and scores of other companies outside of tech.

These claims aren’t true. Yet they are being used to further the narrative that we can ban fossil fuels, which supply 80 percent of the world’s energy, and replace them with wind and solar, which currently supply just 5 percent. 

I find these claims troubling—not only because they are being used to kill the coal industry, but because the policies Big Tech and its supporters advocate could starve billions from energy.

When companies claim to be “100 percent renewable” they want us to think they’re getting 100 percent of their energy from solar and wind. But the truth is they are relying on local electricity grids, and no grid on Earth can work with anything close to 100 percent solar and wind.

Solar and wind are intermittent sources. Because the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine, they require backup from reliable energy sources like coal. That’s what overwhelmingly powers Big Tech.

Apple, for example, claims its data center in Maiden, NC, is running predominantly on its own solar capacity and fuel cells. But analysts familiar with the situation have shown the solar panels and fuel cells actually supply power to the grid via the local utility. 

It’s this grid that powers the data center using reliable energy, which according to Apple’s own data is over 50 percent nuclear power, 33 percent coal and less than 1 percent renewable.

The other tech companies also depend on local electricity grids overwhelmingly powered by fossil fuels and nuclear. So how do they justify their “100-percent renewable” claims?

Take Google, which is the most forthcoming about the reality of its power use. The company admits on its website that it doesn’t really run on solar and wind. But it justifies its renewable claims by saying, in the words of Google’s Senior VP of Technical Infrastructure, Urs Hölzle, that for “every kilowatt-hour of electricity we consumed, we purchased a kilowatt-hour of renewable energy from a wind or solar farm.”

Google uses lots of fossil fuels and nuclear, but it offsets its use of reliable energy by dumping unreliable energy onto the grid to be used by all of the grid’s customers. Google isn’t using 100-percent renewables, which would leave it at the mercy of the wind and the sun, it’s paying for the privilege of taking credit for renewable energy used by others.

The real news is that solar and wind are so inferior that even some of the richest companies on Earth can’t power themselves through 100-percent renewable energy.

That should make us incredibly skeptical of policies that favor solar and wind and restrict affordable, reliable sources like coal. Instead, Big Tech is using the status it gains from being a “green” leader to actively push for anti-fossil fuel policies. 

Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon came out in support of President Barack Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan in 2016. And Intel has called for a carbon tax and an 85-percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions. All of these policies would make energy more expensive for millions of Americans and billions around the world.

Silicon Valley’s millionaires and billionaires may be able to afford higher energy costs in order to appear green. But for poorer Kentuckians, who already spend upwards of 20 percent of their incomes on energy, increasing that burden means they have less to spend on everything else — food, clothing, housing and medicine.

As members of the coal industry we are proud of our contribution to the digital world and we deserve credit for helping power it. But the “100-percent renewable” claims not only deprive us of credit for our contribution they help persuade voters to support anti-fossil fuel policies that are driving us out of business.

That is bad for Kentucky and it’s bad for everyone. Americans and billions around the globe need affordable, reliable energy—including the energy produced by today’s modern clean-coal plants. If tech leaders truly want to empower the world, they should start by telling the truth about who powers their companies.

 

At KCA, it’s our mission to lead the coal industry in the Bluegrass. Coal touches everyone across the Commonwealth, powering our state literally and figuratively. That’s why we want all Kentuckians to have the opportunity to get connected with the coal industry. You can join the coal conversation at our educational, interactive Kentucky Coal Annual Meeting on September 6^th-7^th in Lexington.

Where’s the action?
The event begins with a reception at Limestone Hall, one of the newest event spaces in Lexington. This picturesque space is nestled on the top floor under the recently renovated rotunda in the historic courthouse downtown. The next morning, the action heats up at the Hilton Downtown Lexington with a full day of presentations and events. You won’t want to miss our engaging speaker lineup!

KCA was the recent recipient of a grant for over $120,000 to incorporate coal into the curriculum at Junior Achievement Biztown. We’ve been busy working with the Cabinet for Energy and Environment to implement our coal unit into the curriculum and will expose over 65,000 kids to our industry over the next five years. That’s why our Annual Meeting will include a trip to Junior Achievement Biztown, where our supporters can see firsthand the impact that this program will have on local youth. During this portion of the event, we’ll be joined by Governor Matt Bevin for the Keynote Address.

After lunch, we’ll hold our KCA Annual Board of Directors meeting, which is open to our entire membership. This is a great opportunity to understand the inner workings of our organization. Dinner will take place at the Kentucky Castle, where we’ll enjoy a keynote address from Alex Epstein of The Center for Industrial Progress.

Who’s on the guest list?
We’re thrilled to welcome a curated group of coal industry insiders to our Annual Meeting:

Renee Shaw and her guests discuss energy policy. Scheduled guests: Tyler White, president of the Kentucky Coal Association; Tom FitzGerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council; Bill Barr, co-founder and managing partner of BlackRidge Resource Partners and chair of the Kentucky Oil and Gas Association’s government affairs committee; and Sarah Lynn Cunningham, an environmental engineer and president of the board of directors of the Kentucky Conservation Committee.

Americans have been exceptionally fortunate in recent decades to enjoy robust power generation to heat their homes, refrigerate their food, and deliver clean drinking water. Unlike many countries, the United States maintains affordable, non-stop, 24/7 electricity. It’s an impressive feat in a nation of 325 million that continues to add more than 2 million people annually.

As America increases its use of intermittent wind and solar power, it’s important to examine whether the nation can continue to meet its overall energy needs. Recently, Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced a review of the stability of the nation’s power grid—and just as the nation faces conflicting energy problems. Nuclear power, which generates about a fifth of America’s electricity, appears to be winding down, thanks to prohibitive construction costs. And while natural gas generates a third of the nation’s power, export controls are being lifted—which could lead to price increases as both domestic and overseas demand is rising.

Secretary Perry has his work cut out for him, since the task of securing America’s energy grid could stumble into a perfect storm of higher prices. And much-touted renewable power faces its own troubling drawbacks—since the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine. If Washington bets the farm on natural gas and renewables, it’s unclear whether the nation will still be able to meet base load power needs while also maintaining affordable pricing.

These are important issues for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to consider. But news of Secretary Perry’s study has stirred up controversy nevertheless. The nation’s wind and solar groups have expressed concern over Perry’s intent to conduct a thorough review of the cost-benefit ratios involved in power grid reliability. And with taxpayer-funded subsidies for renewable projects under scrutiny, these groups very much want to justify their position.

Notably, coal still undergirds America’s overall power generation. And with the DOE looking to keep the lights on, coal may play a surprisingly strong role in the coming years.

Right now, coal provides roughly one-third of total U.S. power generation. And 13 states depend on coal for more than half of their overall power supply. Unfortunately, this workhorse effort appears under-appreciated. For example, less than 10 percent of voters in a recent study correctly assessed the scale of emissions reductions attained by coal-powered plants over the past 40 years.

Evidently though, any discussion of coal’s strengths, or the subsidies parceled out to wind and solar projects, disturbs the renewable energy industry. In a recent letter to Secretary Perry, these groups argued that they shouldn’t share the blame for coal’s woes which, they insist, merely stem from low natural gas prices.

But Obama Administration regulations posed real consequences. As Duke University’s Nicholas School has reported, recent government regulations threatened the viability of 56 percent of U.S. coal plants, while competition from much-touted low natural gas prices threatened only 9 percent. Conversely, mounting federal subsidies for renewable energy have shielded the wind and solar industry from competition at the expense of competing sources like coal.

According to the Institute for Energy Research, government policies have meant solar power being subsidized by over 345 times more than coal, and wind being subsidized over 52 times more. And this subsidization is costly. DOE data reveals that each energy sector requires vastly different labor inputs: one coal worker equals two natural gas workers, or 12 wind industry employees, or 79 solar workers. And while coal creates 7,800 jobs per Megawatt-hour, wind yields only 2,200, and solar 98. Without subsidies, wind and solar would fare poorly in the free market against coal and natural gas.

States need to protect their base load power, and Secretary Perry is taking a prudent approach in examining such considerations. The heavily subsidized growth of renewables is indeed impacting other power sources, leaving U.S. taxpayers paying more for a less diverse supply of energy. Thus, Perry is right to consider whether America is still on track to meet future power needs, and at a price that consumers can afford.

Terry Jarrett is an energy attorney and consultant who has served on both the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the Missouri Public Service Commission.

For the Kentucky Coal Association, the election of President Donald Trump gave us hope. Instead of vilifying coal like President Barack Obama did, the Trump administration recognizes that coal is a reliable and affordable source of energy.

Coal powers our homes and businesses, and the low energy costs it provides gives the commonwealth a competitive advantage when attracting new employers and jobs. Most members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation have been fighting against the “war on coal” for many years, and Trump has been a fierce ally in getting meaningful regulatory relief across the finish line.

I want to take this opportunity to thank our elected officials who’ve been working to undo some of the damage from the last eight years.

When Trump entered office, Congress and this administration came together to overturn the Obama-era stream buffer rule that attempted to make coal too expensive to mine or use. Even worse, the rule could have put as many as one-third of coal-related jobs at risk.

Sen. Mitch McConnell used his role as majority leader to prioritize the repeal of this regulation by introducing a resolution to overturn this anti-coal rule, the first regulation overturned by the Senate this year. I was proud to stand with McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul as Trump signed the resolution into law, signaling a new era for federal treatment of Kentucky coal.

Next, Trump used a pair of executive orders to dismantle other devastating anti-coal regulations. First, he stopped a rule that tried to extend the federal bureaucracy into nearly every pothole, ditch and puddle — often referred to as the waters of the U.S. rule. Then, his Energy Independence Executive Order initiated the repeal of a pair of regulations seeking to close existing coal-fired plants across the nation and prevent new ones from being built.

KCA also thanks Trump for his recent decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. McConnell and Paul joined a letter in the Senate and representatives Andy Barr and James Comer signed onto a similar letter in the House urging the president to protect Kentucky coal communities and withdraw the U.S. from this unattainable agreement.

In addition to helping deliver regulatory relief to struggling coal communities, Kentucky senators and representatives have also secured new research funding to support technological advancements for coal. The most recent government-funding legislation included over $660 million to support a Department of Energy program focused on developing new coal technology, which is important to keeping coal competitive.

The industry simply wants to get Washington bureaucracy out of the way so that coal can compete on the open market. Those who blame coal’s downturn on cheap natural gas prices are missing the full picture and are too quick to forget natural gas’ characteristic price volatility. When the Obama administration put coal at a disadvantage, the marketplace followed that direction.

Although it will take some time to recover from the Obama administration’s regulatory damage, I am encouraged that we have recently seen slight increases in coal production in some places and some federal projections estimate increased production over the next few years. It’s too early to say whether a trend in increased coal production will come to fruition, but the regulatory relief has restored some hope.

Trump and leaders in Congress like McConnell have created an optimism about coal by offering their support to struggling communities. As a result, we have seen idle mines start back production and new companies begin operations in some of the most devastated regions of our state. We know that there is still much work to do for Kentucky’s coal country but together we are making strides in a positive direction.

John Oliver — and a giant squirrel — made the king of coal seriously angry.

Robert Murray, the CEO of one of America’s largest coal companies, filed a defamation lawsuit against Oliver on Wednesday. The lawsuit claims the HBO comedian executed a “meticulously planned” and “ruthless character assassination” designed to boost TV ratings and hurt his mining company.

The lawsuit named Oliver, the show’s production company, his senior news producer Charles Wilson, HBO and Time Warner (TWX) (which owns CNN). The complaint alleges that Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” episode on Sunday “incited” viewers to “do harm to Mr. Murray and his companies.” It also claims the miner’s website was hacked as a result of the segment, and that Oliver’s statements constitute “false light invasion of privacy” and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

During his June 18 show, Oliver lambasted President Trump over his promises to bring back thousands of coal mining jobs, a pledge the comedian says is a false promise to an industry that’s been in a steep decline for decades.

The segment, which has been viewed 4.5 million times on YouTube, devoted several minutes to Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy, and a vocal champion of the coal industry. Oliver told the audience that Murray had warned him he would sue and bring the case all the way to the Supreme Court if he failed to “cease and desist” any effort to “defame, harass, or otherwise injure Mr. Murray or Murray Energy.”

Oliver said on air that he would “proceed with caution,” and then he launched into a monologue comparing the 77-year-old coal exec to a “geriatric Dr. Evil.” The segment chronicled Murray’s career in mining and his handling of a 2007 mine collapse in Utah that left six miners and three rescuers dead.

“An honest conversation about coal and its miners needs to be had,” Oliver said, “and we should neither cease nor desist from having it.”

But the complaint alleges that Oliver and the show “intentionally, falsely, and outrageously” suggested that Murray had no evidence to support statements that the mine collapse was caused by an earthquake. The lawsuit claims Oliver ignored studies supporting Murray and quoted others out of context.

Oliver later recounted a story — that Murray has denied happened — that the CEO told workers the idea for starting a mine company came to him from a squirrel.

At the end of the show, the HBO host trotted a man dressed in a giant squirrel costume onto stage to address Murray directly. “Bob, I just wanted to say if you plan on suing, I do not have a billion dollars, but I do have a check for three acorns and 18 cents,” the squirrel said.

“It’s made out to ‘Eat sh*t Bob!,” the squirrel said, while holding up a giant fake check with “kiss my ass!” scrawled in the memo field.

Oliver acknowledged during the show that Murray is “probably going to sue me.” He added, “You know what? I stand by everything I said.”

In a statement, HBO said: “We have confidence in the staff of Last Week Tonight and do not believe anything in the show this week violated Mr. Murray’s or Murray Energy’s rights.”

Murray Energy’s complaint referred to Oliver, who is British, as a “foreign national residing in New York.” The company, in a separate statement, called Murray a “patriotic American.”

The lawsuit also described Murray as seriously ill, saying he depends on an oxygen tank, needs a lung transplant and “does not expect to live to see the end of this case.”

“Nothing has ever stressed him more than this vicious and untruthful attack,” the complaint said, adding it has caused “significant emotional and physical distress.”

Murray Energy said that after the Oliver show, its website was attacked three different times by hackers who attempted to crash it. On the third attempt, Murray Energy said it had to take down its website to implement new security measures.

Murray Energy also said it received “numerous harassing telephone calls,” including from callers who simply said: “Eat Sh*t, Bob.”

The coal magnate has spoken out publicly to criticize environmental restrictions on the coal industry and has described former President Barack Obama’s agenda as “evil.”

Murray also filed a libel suit against the New York Times earlier this year for statements it made about the Utah mine collapse. The Times said it has moved to dismiss the suit.

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ACOSTA, PA. — On a warm June morning, a large crowd gathered in the lush, gentle folds of the Allegheny Mountains to hear President Donald Trump live on video.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be speaking with you on this great, great day,” he said. “The miners of Pennsylvania are mining coal again.”

On a stage, five men unfurled a gold banner that blared, in large black letters: “Trump Digs Coal,” as the audience went wild.

For the first time in nearly a decade, a new coal mine has opened here, and a US president has rallied alongside an industry deemed by many as obsolete.

The Acosta Deep Mine in Somerset County marks a dramatic upturn for the area. And while President Trump cannot claim that he brought the industry back here personally (this new mine was already being developed before the election), he is an effective cheerleader for folks who’ve been discounted by the political elite.

“We will begin by employing 70 to 100 miners and we hope to open a total of three new mines in the next 18 months — and that will mean additional hiring,” said George Dethlefsen, CEO of Corsa Coal, which owns the mine.

More than 400 people applied for the first wave of jobs that will pay from $50,000 to $100,000, Dethlefsen said.

In a region where the median household income is $29,050, and nearly 12 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, the economic injection is huge.

‘I don’t think people outside of our small town understand how life-changing this development is.’

 – Greg Griffith, coal miner

It also creates a ripple effect: For every new job generated by the mine, even more jobs like waitresses, hotel workers, barbers or grocery workers are needed to support the community.

“The money essentially stays here in our hometown,” said Greg Griffith, owner of Griffith Excavating, who was working the mine last week with his crew. He has hired new people to take on the workload and will employ even more as the other mines open.

“I don’t think people outside of our small town understand how life-changing this development is.”

He’s right about that. Just days after the event, progressives on Twitter slammed the mine, comparing the opening of an energy-supplying coal pit to the launching a VCR factory in the digital age. In their minds, it’s a waste of time.

And the response from the people of Acosta? Stop treating other Americans like the enemy.

They also point out that the criticism is wildly misinformed. The coal from this mine is not going to be used for energy — instead, it will be used for the production of steel for the next 15 years. (According to the World Steel Association, coal is used to make 70 percent of the steel today.)

Every single one of us relies on steel in our daily lives. It’s found in our cars, bikes and public transportation. Those wind turbines so loved by environmentalists? Made of steel. The utensils we use to eat? Steel. Medical devices used to save lives? Steel.

Roads, bridges, appliances and even iPhones and computers all contain steel.

Meanwhile, digital business publication Quartz also knocked the mine, pointing out that 70 new hires is a significantly smaller number than the 92 jobs one supermarket opening would create.

But most folks in a grocery store don’t earn $50,000 to $100,000, and making an apples-to-oranges comparison (retail vs. mining) demonstrates a lack of understanding about coal country and its work force.

It also encourages the delusion that hiring just 70 people won’t create an economic engine for a community.

“That could not be more wrong-headed,” said Sean Isgan, president of CME Engineering, located right across the street from the Somerset County courthouse.

Because of the new mine, Isgan’s business will also expand. “We will hire geologists, surveyors, engineers, computer draftsmen, biologists, wetland people . . . you know, different kinds of sciences,” he said. “So they’re all good-paying jobs, full benefits.”

The life of a coal miner has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. Even in the last decade, the work has become safer, the processes better regulated.

“There is a tremendous amount of regulation that’s involved in coal mining, whether it’s environmental or safety, both of which are extremely critical and valued parts of our business,” Dethlefsen said.

His company has 20 staffers dedicated to environmental issues — clean water, clean air and reclaiming mine sites.

“We are committed to environmental protection, we are committed to safety, we are committed to restoring land to its original contours,” he said. “We do all those things every day, and we spend millions of dollars doing it. It’s a 24/7, 365-day-a-year effort. That is a big change versus the past.”

But many Americans aren’t aware of this modernization. So having a president who believes in this industry, and rallies publicly for it, means a lot. Trump has “created an optimism in the business community that has trickled down from big companies to small, and for all of their workers,” Dethlefsen said.

It’s this support that compelled the people of Somerset County to give Trump their vote. His loyalty won them over months ago, and it won’t be forgotten in a hurry.