U.S. aims to counter Russian influence with natural resources, though Ukraine’s roadmap for the energy emphasizes nuclear power.
By Daniel J. Graeber 
| Aug. 22, 2017 at 5:46 AM
Aug. 22 (UPI) — Coal shipped from the United States could help address energy security issues in Ukraine, the nation’s energy secretary said.
U.S. Cabinet officials, the U.S. envoy to Ukraine and representatives from XCoal were on hand for the first shipment of coal from a Pennsylvania facility to Ukrainian energy company Centrenergo. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said coal sent from the United States would serve as a secure and reliable form of energy for Ukrainian consumers.
“The department and this administration look forward to making available even more of our abundant natural resources to allies like Ukraine in the future to promote their own energy security through diversity of supply and source,” he said in a statement.
Coal exports from the United States were around 37 million tons total for the first five months of the year, a level that’s 60 percent higher than the same time last year.
U.S. President Trump in his first weeks in office took aim at environmental rules he said threatened the coal industry. According to the White House, more than 600 coal mines closed in the six years ending in 2015, production declined by more than 177 million tons and more than 36,000 jobs were lost “without any sign of relief.”
Eurocoal, an association that represents coal producers in the European region, said Ukraine has enough of its own coal to last for more than a century. Nuclear energy accounts for about half of the country’s electricity generation, with coal representing about 40 percent. Most of the nation’s coal reserves are found in Donetsk, an industrial city at the heart of the Ukrainian separatist movement.
HT/TA
Lets hope Odessa doesn’t go rogue again, as I assume that’s where the ships are headed.
Well wake me when we ship coals to Newcastle !!
G
Too late – we have no doubt bulldozed the coal power stations of the north-east already.
Charles… You beat me by two minutes with this story… 😉
Another nail in coffin regarding Russia-Trump collusion and more good news for the resurgent U.S. coal industry…
[caption id="attachment_180267" align="alignnone" width="1023"]
“Exports to Ukraine are part of Donald Trump’s plan to turn the United States into an energy-exporting superpower.” RFE/RL[/caption]
Have there been any reductions in deliveries of coal from eastern Ukraine, or is this simply a preemptive exchange to incentivize the existing supply situation to continue or face competition? I cannot believe that shipping commodities across half the globe is cost effective as long as readily available supplies are near at hand.
It is purely an Anti-Russia political stunt. Ukraine (and many European countries) are reliant on Russian Natural gas. By showing that you (USA) are willing to ship coal to help wean Ukraine off Russian energy helps change the power dynamic.
US coal exports this year have all been up based on temporary events (e.g nuclear reactor shut downs) creating shortages.
US coal exports are thus currently ‘opportunity based’
As coal use abroad declines, less opportunity.
It was, I think, think the Wall Street Jounal that was recently trumpeting coal exports to the UK and/or France – well both will have no operating coal power plants by 2025.
And yet coal exports from Aus increase…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-06/trade-balance-for-may/8683648
‘as coal use declines’
Well, other than in the 1600 coal fired power stations that are in the process of being constructed around the world. Mind you, the Guardian and it’s TV station the BBC wouldn’t mention inconvenient facts like that.
More arrant nonsense!
Have you apologised yet?
Speaking of “Russia-Trump collusion”, I haven’t heard much about Russia-Trump collusion lately on the news. Democrat Adam Shiff, who is on a committee investigating Russia-Trump collusion was not asked a single question about it the last time he was interviewed by the MSM.
The Russia-Trump collusion story seems to be running out of gas. Now the new narrative is Trump colluding with the N@zis and White Supremacists. When that runs out of gas, the MSM will make something else up to bash Trump. It’s what they do.
Trump colluding with – oh – say – 9aedo9hil3s?
They are utterly desperate to ‘get’ him.
They desperately fear him.
Even if he shows a chaotic governance.
Auto
Paradox. Donbas (Doneck basin) is a large coal mining area in Ukraine, it helped industrialisation of the region making Donbas densely populated region, second only to the country’s capital Kiev.
And fancy that we’re sending the real Anthracite coal instead of that low sulphur crap in the US West than Clinton put the kibosh on in favor of his Chicom pals, who slipped him some shady gratuities that helped his White House campaign.
Low S Coal can be damned high if you measure it per BTU instead of per ton.
G
You would figure that Putin’s game was to cut them off from their coal….which he pretty much has
…..MAGA! LOL
Nice for US exporters, not so nice for Ukraine as this can only be more expensive for them.
Seems like just another politically imposed famine. This one is an imposed energy starvation, with all the same effects.
One wonders how Ukrainian government is going to pay for all of this, considering Trump is not incline to waste the US taxpayer’s money.
“Russia may call in its $3 billion loan to Ukraine that could push the country into default….. Indeed its economic crisis has become so deep that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified a $15 billion shortfall in government funding that will need to be plugged in. That figure comes on top of the $17 billion programme that has already been arranged by the IMF” according to the Financial Times (2015) and things got even worse since then.
A lot of Ukraine’s coal is in rebel-held areas, so this puts off actually dealing with the Russian sponsored “rebels”.
Not really. Donbass was shipping coal to Ukraine up until mysterious persons blockaded the trains. Was probably Ukrainian neo-n.azi militias.
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2017/0228/In-Ukraine-blockade-threatens-to-force-issue-at-heart-of-civil-war
“Was probably Ukrainian neo-n.azi militias.”
Funded by the European Union…
Correct, the Ukrain nationalists/nazi’s enforced the blockade.
These were the good Nazis – not like the bad ones at Charlottesville 🙂
Omit ‘Not really’. Had two thoughts going and forgot to delete.
Excuse me, but shouldn’t “at the heart of the Ukrainian separatist movement” actually read “at the heart of Russian-occupied Ukraine”?
Not if you know your history. Kiev is the ancient Russian capital while Crimea was always Russian until it was ‘donated’ to Ukrainian republic by Nikita Khrushchev who was Ukrainian and did rule Russia, why not say occupied the Russian seat of government, for 11 years.
Crimea was only part of Ukraine for 35 years – 1954-1989.
Was not the Crimea where the Charge of the Light Brigade occurred, and also where Florence Nightingale did her Nurse thing ?? I have an old Video Game where one gets to fly a Sukhoi SU-27 Flanker over the Crimea. I always managed to crash the thing by landing at too high a speed.
G
G
Do you seriously not understand the difference between the Crimea and the Donbass? The article and my comment refer to the Donbass, the eastern provinces of Ukraine that were depopulated by famine under Stalin, repopulated by Russians after WWII, and infiltrated by Putin’s “little green men”in the 2000’s.
“george e. smith August 23, 2017 at 3:42 pm
Was not the Crimea where the Charge of the Light Brigade occurred,…”
Indeed it was. Medals are still made from the guns from the battle.
“Ukraine that were depopulated by famine under Stalin, repopulated by Russians after WWII”
Well many Ukrainians chose to follow and aid the looser.
My ancestors depopulated parts of East Roman Empire by fighting, displacing, assimilating few left of the indigenous population, just because they preferred warmth of south to the cold of north Europe.
On mater of Crimea, or as an American senator (or was it congress) lady called it Korea, the British, French and possibly Turks still remember Alma, Balaclava, Sevastopol.
A lesson from history is that if you have stronger neighbour don’t poke him in the eye, and if someone else attacks, keep out of it, else you may live to regret it.
Ukraine gave to Russia Khrushchev and Georgia Stalin, so if you are neighbour of the hard drinking ‘Rus’ don’t do as Georgia and Ukraine did, do as Kazakhstan and some other …stans do. Forget about Europe, America can’t for ever go around the world rescuing people from trouble they needlessly get themselves into.
Kyiv never was an ancient Russian capital … this is fake history created by the Russian monarchy to add historical justification for their dynasty. Mongols came for tribute, not land or control They left the existing Rus princes in power as long as they behaved and paid. They also enhanced the authority of the Orthodox church based in Kyiv. Moscow’s position was established by arranging a marriage with the daughter of the Khan.
And in response to ICISIL, Ukraine was part of the Russian SSR from 1945-1954 … a grand 9 years.
Before Mongosl Kiev Rus was ruled by Prince Vladimir the Great., there was also a second great prince Vladimir.
From the current Ukrainian tourist office
“During the 11th and 12th centuries ancient Kiev Rus reached its greatest period of ascendancy. By the 11th century Kiev was one of the largest centers of civilization in the Eastern christian world. At that time, there were about 400 churches, 8 markets and more than 50,000 inhabitants in Kiev. For comparison, at the same time the population of London, Hamburg and Gdansk was about 20,000 people. Kiev was among the most prospering craft and shopping centers of Europe.”
Perhaps you should find out what word ‘kraina’ and ‘ukraina’ means in the Slavic languages.
vukcevic, didn’t know the etymology of Ukraine. So it got that name because Ukraine was the original Russian heartland after they defeated the Turkic tribes that dominated the region prior. Rus, of course, are the original Russians.
Donbass was shipping coal to Ukraine until some mysterious people set up a blockade. Probably was Ukrainian neo-nazi militias. I think Donbass said OK and ships it to Russia now.
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2017/0228/In-Ukraine-blockade-threatens-to-force-issue-at-heart-of-civil-war
They’re not separatists, they are refugees of yet another elective regime change carried out under the Obama administration. It would be another example of a “clean” war forcing catastrophic anthropogenic immigration reform, if not for Russia’s intervention to stand with the refugees of the Obama/Merkel-backed coup in Kiev.
“yet another elective regime change carried out under the Obama administration.”
The European Union is implicated too, to the tune of funding the ne0-Naz! separatists to the tune of around €10 billion to overthrow the democratically elected government.
The European Union has designs on Russian territory.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/01/eu-extend-soviet-union-david-cameron
Lebensraum anyone?
So catweasel666, are you and nn paid Putin trolls or just useful idiots?
Neither.
But you’re a common or garden idiot.
And pig thick with it.
Maybe Trump can persuade Trudeau to do the same. Coal is by far the safest, most abundant and least expensive base load means of power generation.
Alberta and BC are sitting on a s-load, safe to mine, safe to transport and safe to burn, with the added benefit of atmospheric CO2 plant food.
Excellent, obvious and easy move by Trump…hopefully more of same from other western nations to follow and this climate cult “scare” will find its place along with all the other hobgoblins of the times that have come and gone.
Think of the man-made ozone hole “scare”….In his article “The Axis of Climate Evil” Paul Krugman uses the explanations of the phenomenon as an example of denial…what a joke, the man’s ignorance on the issue is appalling.
The polar holes of the ozone layer were regarded as evidence of its depletion from human activity. Some industrial compounds (chlorofluorocarbons or CFC’s) chemically react with the O3 molecule of the ozone layer of the stratosphere thus depleting it.
There are other explanations; the ozone layer is relatively thin (at 1 atm it would be less than 1/8 of an inch thick) and in a constant state of replenishment as well as depletion. 12 to 25 miles up high energy UV splits the O2 molecule into two atomic O1 molecules that then combine with O2 to form the unstable, temporary O3 ozone molecule which absorbs low energy UV.
It is now understood the main reasons for the changing polar ozone hole sizes are natural and include the seasonal lack of light, the atmospheric fluid dynamics of the polar vortices, fluctuations with naturally occurring nitrous oxide and most importantly, the solar variances in UV radiation.
Still, the madness continues.
No, polar ozone holes are increased by CFCs and banning CFCs has started resolution of the problem of their expansion.
You can’t just make up your own science!
Total BS Griff, total BS. You have no idea about O3.
You are the one who makes up your own “science”, griffie.
“You can’t just make up your own science!”
And yet you do it all the time.
This is both economically and strategically advantageous to the US and the Ukraine, while simultaneously sticking a thumb in Putin’s eye.
Not for Ukraine, coal from Donbass is much cheaper.
A fantastic achievement and only good things are coming the way of the US from this. How unfortunate that Europe, with vast coal reserves, is losing out to the US. For shame.
It isn’t losing out at all… 35% of German power in H1 was from renewables…
Several days this month UK had 33% solar/wind power and 1% coal.
And fuel prices are sky high. If the UK experiences a winter similar to 2009/2010, people will suffer severe hardship and the system will buckle.
But you missed the point. Europe, with vast coal reserves they are now too green conscious of to use, loses out to the US in supplying neighbouring countries? Amazing really.
“Griff August 24, 2017 at 12:38 am
It isn’t losing out at all… 35% of German power in H1 was from renewables…
Several days this month UK had 33% solar/wind power and 1% coal.”
Would be good Griff if you can provide the source to your snapshot of power generation (I assume) figures.
Sadly for people in the UK, Gas prices have more than doubled since 2004 and electricity prices have doubled.
Showing no signs of a slow down, either. Fuel poverty now impacts more than 7 million households in the UK, a 300% increase in 15 years.
There is nothing to be proud of with the solar and wind usage.
“Fuel poverty now impacts more than 7 million households in the UK, a 300% increase in 15 years.”
Do you think a virtue signalling Guardian reading devout CAGW True Believer like Griff gives a flying dog’s testicle for the tens of thousands of deaths amongst the poor and elderly through inability to afford both heat and food – and not just in the UK either, it is happening to tens of thousands in Germany too, any more than about the deaths of tens of thousands of birds and bats and recently not a few whales?
In your dreams!
renewals at best supply 25% of total electricity demand and yet price has doubled not only for the electricity but the heating gas too.
The average consumer is exploited, robed, mugged and enslaved by the renewals racket operators.
Griff, go peddle your nonsense to the weak minded and politically infirmed. There are learned adults in this site, not liberal college sophomores.
Hopefully the leftarded bureaucrats of the EU won’t block this coal from being shipped by rail as their cousins here in the States are trying to do.