Russia’s war with Ukraine shines a bright light on the critical importance of maintaining robust systems of fossil energy production, transportation, and generation in the United States and among our NATO ally countries.
The crisis is creating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for West Virginia to shore-up national security, reset domestic and global energy policies, and reestablish itself as a major supplier of energy to the world.
Even before the invasion of Ukraine, Europe was in the grips of a full-blown energy crisis. De-carbonization efforts by several western European nations lead to the accelerated retirement of coal fired power plants, the closure of mines in Germany and Poland that supplied coal to the continent, and even the closure of nuclear plants. These shifts from traditional, reliable energy sources were based on an increased reliance of intermittent (renewable) sources of energy.
As the energy crisis worsened, European nations called for more coal from the U.S. and other nations to offset the remarkably high natural gas prices, if the supplies could be secured at all. Europe went so far as to suspend its restrictions on lower quality coal to keep the lights on.
American exports of coal to Europe were constrained, particularly from West Virginia where our coal is preferred by European buyers for its quality and heating value, due to environmental, social and governance (ESG) pressures that have limited the ability of coal producers to secure financing necessary to expand production. The capital limitations were compounded by transportation difficulties associated with the railroads which created a huge backlog at U.S. export ports.
The same pressures limiting coal exports to Europe also constrained coal supply to U.S. power plants, which were called on to generate more electricity in the face of natural gas price spikes and a recovering economy.
According to the federal Energy Information Administration, coal stockpiles at U.S power plants are the lowest they have been since 1979. Combined, the international and domestic demand has pushed coal prices to their highest levels ever.
While the crisis has eased a little domestically as winter turns to spring and natural gas prices moderate, there remains a coal shortage in the United States. Russia’s Ukrainian aggression only makes the situation worse.
Dependence on Russian coal, gas and oil have limited Europe and the United States’ ability to hit Vladimir Putin where it hurts: fuel sales to NATO countries, which are funding the atrocity in Ukraine.
Russia currently supplies 30 percent of the metallurgical coal used by European steelmakers and 60% of the thermal coal used to generate electricity. West Virginia coal can replace that continent’s need for Russian coal.
To accomplish this will require a significant effort by the government, producers, and the railroads to provide coal, our “freedom fuel”, to our European allies.
Years of strategic, concerted effort by the regulatory agencies of our federal government have eroded our ability to produce the coal America needs to remain self-sufficient and energy secure. West Virginia alone has lost approximately 90 million tons of its coal production since 2008. Greenwashing of portfolios by large investment firms have strangled the capital available to U.S. coal producers (but it hasn’t stopped them from underwriting production in other nations, including Russia).
By shutting down coal-fired power plants, prohibiting natural gas production and pipeline development, and importing Russian oil – yes, our nation had been importing about 200,000 barrels of Russian oil a day – the liberal establishment has weakened our energy security and capacity to help our allies overseas.
If this isn’t a wake-up call, I don’t know what is. President Biden and Congress should lift regulations impeding coal and fossil fuel production in America today.
Matters of stability, national security and energy independence are shared objectives and should remain front center in global policy debates. West Virginia’s opportunity is so substantial today, it could influence a coal and fossil energy renaissance of unprecedented proportions.
Let’s unleash the power of West Virginia coal for a stronger nation and safer, more secure global community.