Charleston, W.Va. - - Serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of the West Virginia Coal Association since 1992, the organization has announced that Bill Raney will retire effective January 1, 2021 following a long and impactful career. 

“Bill Raney is an icon to those of us that have worked in and around the mining industry and to many throughout the state of West Virginia,” said Heath Lovell, chairman of the West Virginia Coal Association board of directors. “His passion for, and contributions to this industry over his professional career are unsurpassed.  He is the original “Friend of Coal” and we wish him a long, fruitful and well-deserved retirement.” 

The West Virginia Coal Association today issued the following statement on the passing of Robert Murray, founder and CEO of Murray Energy. “We are saddened to hear of the passing of Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray.

Bob was the embodiment of the American Dream – a fourth-generation coal miner who made his way from the mine face to the board room. He never wavered in his love for our industry and for the people who work in it. He defended our nation’s coal jobs with the passion of a country preacher. We have been proud to have Bob Murray as a member of our association and, more importantly, to call him our friend. He will be missed.”

The WVCA sends its condolences to his wife Brenda, and sons: Robert, Ryan and Jonathan.

Most people do not realize that for more than 40 years the federal government has been subsidizing the development of wind and solar energy to produce electricity. So far, federal subsidies for renewable energy total more than $100 billion. This is almost five times the size of the budget for the state of West Virginia.

These subsidies tilt the energy playing field by giving special tax breaks to companies that build and operate wind and solar facilities. One of these is called a production tax credit, which is used mostly by wind developers, and the other is an investment tax credit, which subsidizes mostly solar installations. These tax credits make wind and solar less expensive to build and operate than they would be without subsidies.

If you haven’t already registered, please sign-up to attend the 2019 West Virginia Mining Symposium and National Coal & Energy Conference.  This year’s program is set for November 12^ththrough 14^th at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center and promises to be the best ever featuring speakers to highlight “International Coal Markets”, “Carbon Control Technologies” and “Alternative Coal Usage” 

Presenters for this segment of the Symposium include Lou Hrkman, Dep. Asst. Secretary for Clean Coal and Carbon Mgt (USDOE), Nicholas (Nick) Cron, Vice President – Portfolio Optimization & Marketing, Xcoal Energy & Resources, Randall Atkins, Ramaco Resources, Dick Bajura, WVU Energy Institute, Kevin Whited, Domestic Synthetic Fuels and Dr. Paul Ziemkiewicz (WVU)