Heating Prices Expected To Rise As Federal Regulations Force Coal Plant Shuttering
Leave a CommentThe New York Times reports that with the end of the “harshest winter in recent memory” approaching, Americans are receiving their growing natural gas and electricity heating bills. The Times says that “there might not be relief in future winters, as the coal-fired power plants that utilities have relied on to meet the surge in demand are shuttered for environmental reasons.” While the “sticker shock” has been particularly severe in the Northeast, with its limited natural gas supplies, it has “spread to other regions of the country, including the Midwest, where utilities have had to draw on more expensive reserves to meet the demand.” With coal plants shutting down due to Federal regulations, there could be even “bigger price increases” next year.
Alliance Magnesium to Build Pilot Plant in Canada
Privately-owned Alliance Magnesium has unveiled plans to build a pilot plant in the Asbestos region of Canada in order to confirm the economic viability of a new technology for producing clean magnesium.
The Quebec-based company, which has developed a patented electrolysis clean technology for the production of magnesium from serpentine rock, said construction of the pilot plant is the first step towards eventually operating a plant with a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year of metallic magnesium.
The project consists of building a pilot factory with a production capacity of 25 kilograms a day in order to confirm the different elements of the technology.
“With a pilot factory, we will be testing a new clean process for producing the metal from tailings of serpentine rock from the Jeffrey mine,” said Dr. Joël Fournier, president and ceo of Alliance Magnesium.
“For us, this pilot factory stage is essential before proceeding to the other stages of the project, because we will be able to operate the different equipment and reproduce the actual magnesium production steps.”
The company noted that the awarding of an interest-free loan for $2.25 million from the Economic Diversification Fund for the Regional County Municipality of Les Sources will allow it to go forward with a $10 million investment project.
-Sean Barry, New York (sean@metal-pages.com)
Keep Up-to-date on the Forecast of the Die Casting Industry
Every year NADCA releases the State of the Industry report. This report educates the die casting industry on specific data and forecasts the shape of the industry, present and future. NADCA has created a two part webinar series designed to keep you informed throughout the year on the health of the major markets that die castings serve and shipments from countries around the world. NADCA’s President, Daniel Twarog, will present the following information in this series:
Part 1 – State of the Industry 2014: This webinar will look at the current state of the die casting industry. It will also contain information on industry financials, benchmarks and market trends. Twarog will provide information on energy and metal forecasts as well as the industry shipment forecast for 2014. Industry productivity and technology trends will also be discussed. In addition, this webinar will provide information on finding and keeping qualified employees. Much of the material has been developed exclusively for this webinar.
Date: March 13, 2014
Cost: Corporate Members $49.00
Non-Corporate Members $99.00
Part 2 – State of the Die Casting Industry – 6 Month Review: This webinar will look at the state of the die casting industry in North America in 2014 after six months of shipments. It will review earlier forecasts and provide forecasts for the remainder of 2014 and for 2015. The forecasts for end markets in 2014 and in some cases 2015 will be updated.
Date: October 9, 2014
Cost: Corporate Members $49.00
Non-Corporate Members $99.00
Purchasing this two part series together is only $88 for Corporate Members and $188 for Non-Corporate Members! These 60-minute presentation will not only address important information on the topic but also provide adequate time for questions, answers, and discussion.
There is no online registration available for this webinar. If you would like to sign up for this webinar please contact Athena Catlett at 847.808.3153 or via email at catlett@diecasting.org.