CONSOL Energy

Awards

Awards

• Safety Awards

  • NIOSH Mine Safety and Health Technology Innovation Award CONSOL Energy was honored for its commitment and collaboration to improve post-accident communications and for interfacing Lockheed Martin's TTE technology with the company's primary communications system, potentially expanding miners' options for post-accident communications and expediting the development and commercialization of TTE technology. The MagneLink system was installed at CONSOL's Robinson Run mine in West Virginia in November 2011 to evaluate its capability in an operational mine.

    Joseph A. Holmes Safety Award PITTSBURGH (March 30, 2011) - CONSOL Energy announced that five of its mining operations in West Virginia have been named recipients of Joseph A. Holmes Safety Awards. The awards are presented annually by the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association to select mine operations meeting the safety criteria established for the awards. CONSOL Energy's Fola Surface Mine and its Peach Orchard Preparation Plant, both located in Bickmore, W. Va.; its Peg Fork Surface Mine, located in Naugatuck, W. Va.; its Shoemaker Mine located in Marshall County, W.Va.; and its Blacksville #2 mine located in Wana, W. Va., have each been named recipients of the awards based on their 2010 safety records.

    Mountaineer Guardian Awards CONSOL Energy's McElroy Mine in Moundsville, W. Va., earned the Eustace E. Frederick Milestones of Safety Award, the top award for mine safety, recognizing it for the best safety performance among West Virginia underground mines in 2012. CONSOL's Peg Fork Surface Mine in Naugatuck, W. Va; McElroy's Ireland Loadout in Moundsville, W. Va; and the Loveridge Mine in Fairview W. Va, each earned a Mountaineer Guardian Award. These four operations were honored during the 40th annual West Virginia Mining Symposium held in Charleston, W. Va. on March 7, 2013.

    Mountaineer Guardian Awards CONSOL Energy's Shoemaker Mine in Marshall County, W.Va., was named the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Eustace Frederick Milestones of Safety Award in Charleston, W.Va. Fola Surface, Peg Fork Surface, Blacksville #2 and the Peach Orchard Preparation Plant were all recognized for their commitment to safety through the awards given annually to qualifying underground and surface mining operations across the state of West Virginia. The Shoemaker Mine won the state's top award for underground mine safety, recognizing it for the best safety performance among West Virginia underground coal mines in 2010. In addition to the Shoemaker mine win, in the underground safety category CONSOL Energy's Blacksville #2 Mine in Wana, W.Va., was awarded a Mountaineer Guardian award. In the surface mine category, Fola Surface operations and its Peach Orchard Preparation Plant, both in Clay County, W.Va. and the Peg Fork Surface Mine, located in Naugatuck, W.Va., were each recognized with Mountaineer Guardian Awards for their outstanding safety achievements.

    CONSOL Energy Mine Rescue Teams Finish Successful Competition Year CONSOL Energy's mine rescue teams completed the 2010 competition season with the best performance as a group in company history. Through the season, CONSOL Energy teams won 26 mine rescue team awards; 13 benchman awards; eight pre-shift awards; and a total of 50 awards for individual achievements. New to the competition season was a first aid team from Blacksville. CONSOL Energy has not had a First Aid Team since the 1960s. The first aid team won third place in combination mine rescue/first aid in the post 5 West Virginia contest; and second place in both first aid and combination mine rescue/first aid in the Southern West Virginia Mine Rescue competition.

    CONSOL Energy Operation Earns Third R.E. Bailey Safety Award PITTSBURGH, April 12, 2011 - CONSOL Energy's Wiley Surface Mine in Mingo County, W.Va., earned its third consecutive R.E. Bailey Safety Award as the company's 50 employees achieved a milestone in safety by working another million hours without a lost-time accident. The stellar safety record has its origins 25 years ago in December 1986 when the last lost-time accident occurred at Wiley. "No matter what the weather or mining conditions, the attention Wiley employees pay to safety is second to none," said Miller Creek Superintendent Keith Bartley.

• Technology Awards

  • CONSOL Energy Research Engineer Awarded the "Best Paper Award" at the 29th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference held on October 15-18, 2012. Dan Connell, Research Engineer from CONSOL R & D, was awarded the "Best Paper Award" at the 29th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference held on October 15-18, 2012, for his presentation "Pittsburgh Aerosol Research and Inhalation Epidemiology Study (PARIES): A Retrospective Evaluation of Fine Particulate Matter, its Chemical Components, and Human Health in Southwestern Pennsylvania".  The paper was selected "best" out of approximately 300 technical presentations at the conference. To read more, Click Here.

    CONSOL Energy and Verdeo Group Develop First, Large Methane Gas Abatement Project PITTSBURGH, PA, May 2010 - CONSOL Energy has joined with Verdeo Group, Inc. to develop a project to destroy ventilation air methane emissions at an active West Virginia coal mine. The project, which will be located at CONSOL's McElroy Mine near Glen Easton in Marshall County, will demonstrate significant reductions of in a safe and proven manner, and without any impact on mine operations or production. It will be the first time the technology will be tested at an active coal mine in West Virginia, and among the largest such projects of its kind in the U.S. to date. To read more, Click Here.

    CONSOL Energy and AES Greenidge - Successful Demonstration of Multi-Pollutant Control Technology for Smaller Coal-Fired Plants PITTSBURGH, Pa., and ARLINGTON, Va., April 7, 2009 - CONSOL Energy and AES Greenidge LLC have successfully demonstrated a compact, cost-effective multi-pollutant control technology that is well suited for reducing air emissions from smaller coal-fired power plants. The demonstration project was part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Power Plant Improvement Initiative. Performance testing data collected through June 2008 showed average removal efficiencies of 96 percent for sulfur dioxide, 95 percent for sulfur trioxide, 97 percent for hydrogen chloride, and 98 percent for mercury. Emissions of nitrogen oxides were also significantly reduced and particulate matter emissions were reduced by more than 98 percent relative to the emission rate observed prior to installation of the technology. To read more, Click Here.

    Coal to Liquid Gasification In July 2008, CONSOL Energy announced a partnership with Synthesis Energy Systems (SES) to build an $800 million coal gasification plant near Benwood, W.Va. The plant will convert low-rank coal and coal wastes from CONSOL's nearby Shoemaker Mine into 720,000 metric tons of methanol annually for the chemical industry, using SES's proprietary U-Gas technology. The methanol will also be used to produce about 100 million gallons of 87-octane gasoline annually. U-Gas technology gasifies coal without the harmful emissions associated with coal combustion plants due to a process by which carbon dioxide byproducts from coal are sequestered underground, which helps lessen the environmental impact. The Benwood plant will include an Ohio River terminal facility where products will be stored in tanks for off-loading to barges for ultimate delivery. Completion of the facility is expected in 2012.

    Sequestration of CO2 in Unmineable Coal Seams CONSOL Energy is working with the U.S. Department of Energy and West Virginia University to study ways to store carbon dioxide (CO2) in unmineable coal seams. The process is called CO2 sequestration. Our latest CO2 sequestration test involves two coal seams located in Marshall County, W.Va.: a mineable seam, with an unmineable seam below it. First, we use a horizontal drilling process to drain coalbed methane from both seams. Once we've drained between 50 to 60 percent of the methane, we inject CO2 into the lower, unmineable coal seam. This, in turn, displaces more methane, which we can continue to extract. The total combined coalbed methane flow is over 400,000 cubic feet per day. Because the two coal seams are separated by 600 feet of shale and other rocks, the CO2 will not migrate from the unmineable seam to the mineable one. In fact, the CO2 eventually absorbs into the surrounding rock and becomes elemental carbon. There are several advantages to CO2 sequestration. The process reduces potential methane emissions from coal mining. While at the same time it produces usable methane, a natural gas, for energy use.

    Low Temperature Mercury Control Process CONSOL R&D has developed a potentially low-cost method for controlling mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. In partnership with Allegheny Energy Supply, Alstom Power, Environmental Elements Corp., Carmeuse Lime and the U.S. Department of Energy, we built and operated a two megawatt slip-stream test plant at the Allegheny Energy Mitchell Station. The Low Temperature Mercury Control Process acts by cooling the flue gas temperature to around 220 degrees Fahrenheit, then absorbing mercury from the carbon in the fly ash. In addition, we inject magnesium hydroxide into the mix in order to also absorb sulfur trioxide, a corrosive precursor of sulfuric acid. Our tests showed that the Low Temperature Mercury Control Process can capture up to 90 percent of the mercury in the coal before it can be emitted. The technology to do this is less expensive, on a dollar per pound removed basis, than the alternative method of activated carbon injection and it can be retrofitted to both existing and new power plants. Full-scale field trials are currently underway at Unit 1 of the PPL Martins Creek Power Station.

    Power Generation form Coal Mine Methane CONSOL R&D is experimenting with ways to create electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In late 2006, in partnership with Ingersoll-Rand Energy Systems and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, we installed an ultra-low-emission 70 kilowatt microturbine generator on a large underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. The generator is fueled by coal mine methane vented as part of the mine's ventilation system. Methane is the second most important non-water greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential 21 times as great as that of carbon dioxide (CO2). Coal mine methane accounts for about 10 percent or all anthropogenic methane emissions in the United States. Through this research we have successfully captured methane in the generator and converted it into electricity. When operating at 95 percent capacity, the generator produces 583 megawatt hours of electricity and consumes 7,954,000 cubic feet of methane - keeping the equivalent of 3,522 short tons of CO2 out of the air each year.

• Environmental Awards

  • Virginia Reclamation Award CONSOL Energy was awarded the 2012 Best Completed Deep Mine Award from the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation and the Virginia Mining Association (VMA) for reclamation of its Consolidation Coal Company Vandyke mine in Tazewell County, Va. CONSOL Energy Central Appalachia Operations Supervisor Randy Cox, pictured on the right, accepted the award, which was presented by Virginia Delegate Israel O'Quinn.  CONSOL Energy was honored during the VMA's 42nd annual meeting and awards banquet.  The Vandyke mine site is a 51.34 acre site near Bandy, Va.  The site is comprised of approximately 31 acres of undisturbed area and 20 acres of reclaimed land and is located in the sensitive Indian Creek watershed.  The creek is home to one of the few remaining populations of the riffleshell mussel, an endangered species.  Both mining and reclamation operations followed the approved permit to prevent adverse impacts to water quality in the stream.

    West Virginia Reclamation Awards CONSOL Energy was awarded two West Virginia reclamation awards recognizing its reclamation of the Consolidation Coal Company Itmann #3 mine near Itmann, W. Va. and its Turkey Gap Complex near Matoka, W. Va. The awards, presented during a luncheon honoring statewide reclamation award recipients at the 40th West Virginia Coal Symposium, are co-sponsored by the West Virginia Coal Association and the West Virginia Division of Environmental Proetction.  To be eligible, a mining operation must be nominated by its local state inspector.  Earl Holt was the nominating inspector on both projects.

    Best Completed Deep Mine Award The Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation and the Virginia Mining Association (VMA) awarded CONSOL Energy the 2011 best Completed Deep Mine award for reclamation of its Consolidation Coal Company E-2 mine in Buchanan County, Va. The award, presented during the VMA's annual meeting and awards banquet in Norton, Va., March 31, recognizes CONSOL Energy for its reclamation efforts at the 38 acre site. To be eligible for the award, a site must be recommended by an inspector with the Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy.  The E-2 site reclamation consisted of the Dismal Creek E-2A portals, fill F-1 and the Mine Rock Fill.  CONSOL had an alternative material topsoil variance and implemented a post-mining land use of unmanaged forest on site.  The portals site was approved to operate within the buffer zone of Dismal Creek.  While reducing sediment to a stocked trout stream, Consolidation Coal Company achieved a productive forest on breaker rock using current Forest Reclamantion Approach Guidelines.

    Virginia Reclamation Award PITTSBURGH, April 5, 2011 - CONSOL Energy was awarded the 2010 Best Combination Mining Award from the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation and the Virginia Mining Association for reclamation of its VP#4 mine site near Dismal, Va. The award recognizes CONSOL Energy for its reclamation efforts at the 73-acre VP#4 site. To be eligible for the award, a site must be recommended by an inspector with the Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy. Bob Bowen, who recently retired, was the nominating DMME reclamation inspector. He called the VP#4 reclamation site "one of the best reclamation efforts" he had seen in his 30-year career at the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation.

    CONSOL Energy Receives Prestigious Environmental Awards CONSOL Energy employees accept the awards received for its reclamation efforts in West Virginia. Pictured, from left, (front) are Rocky Malamisura; James Martin, chief of the WV DEP Office of Oil and Gas; and Nathan Rakestraw; and (back) Dave Johnson, Greg Cunningham, Pat Nicholas and Craig Edmonds. CONSOL Energy's was recognized earlier this year for its environmental business practices and reclamation standards in West Virginia during the Independent Oil & Gas Association's winter meeting in Charleston, W.Va. The West Virginia Operations received the Oil & Gas Reclamation Award for first place in category one from the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection Office (WVDEP). The award recognizes reclamation efforts at 199 sites reclaimed in 2009-2010 through the former Dominion E&P division acquired by CONSOL.

    Property Leased to DNR to Establish Marion County Wildlife Management Area FAIRMONT, W.Va. - The Wildlife Resources Section of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has announced the establishment of a new wildlife management area in Marion County, according to "The Dents Run Wildlife Management Area has been leased to the WVDNR by CONSOL Energy Inc. for the public's enjoyment and benefit," said Frank Jezioro, director of the WVDNR. The Dents Run WMA lies in western Marion County and consists of 1,226 acres. It will provide hunting opportunities for deer, wild turkey, squirrel, waterfowl and other game species. In addition, a 30-acre impoundment will provide the public with warmwater fishing opportunities.

    Green Holdings Lists Landmark Coal Mine Methane Abatement Project with the Climate Action Reserve CNEW YORK, NEW YORK, March 14, 2011 - Green Holdings Enlow, Inc., a greenhouse gas abatement company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Green Holdings Corporation, has listed a landmark coal mine methane abatement project with the Climate Action Reserve, the leading carbon offset registry in North America. CONSOL Energy will host the project, which will abate ventilation air methane emissions from its Enlow Fork operation in southwestern Pennsylvania, the largest underground coal mine in the U.S. It is estimated that, pending final permitting, the project will become operational in July 2011, and that it will destroy the equivalent of 190,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide on an annual basis.

    State Game Lands Dedicated to Heroes of Flight 93 By Amy Crawford - TRIBUNE-REVIEW - Friday, July 16, 2010 The new State Game Lands 93. The 665-acre site, in Shade Township near the Flight 93 Memorial, was dedicated the passengers and crew of United Flight 93. Barry Zaffuto, land management supervisor with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said the game lands were created to preserve the natural setting around the Flight 93 memorial while still allowing local people to use the land for hunting. Zaffuto said that much of the land, a reclaimed strip mine, was donated by Consol Energy and Waste Management.

• Corporate Awards

  • J. Brett Harvey, Chairman, President & CEO of CONSOL Energy, Inc. Inducted into the 2012 West Virginia Business Hall of Fame J. Brett Harvey, Chairman, President & CEO of CONSOL Energy, Inc. was inducted into the 2012 West Virginia Business Hall of Fame.  A total of 54 people have been inducted into the Business Hall since it was established in 2001 by the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics.