Coal Companies Lost 93 Million Tons Worth of Demand in 2012 Due to Warmer Temperatures and Cheap Natural Gas

The Paragon Report Provides Stock Research on Cloud Peak Energy and Patriot Coal

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 12/10/12 -- The coal mining industry has experienced major struggles in 2012 as warm temperatures and the emergence of natural gas as a cheaper alternative have caused demand for the commodity to plummet. The Market Vectors-Coal ETF (KOL) has fallen 25 percent year-to-date. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Coal Industry and provides equity research on Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE: CLD) and Patriot Coal Corporation (PINKSHEETS: PCXCQ).


Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.ParagonReport.com/CLD

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Gordon Howald, senior vice president of Doyle Trading Consultants LLC, at a recent conference stated that coal companies lost a total of 93 million tons in demand this year as total demand for coal in the U.S. declined 9.9 percent in 2012. Data from the Energy Department has shown that electricity demand for coal fell from 42 percent in 2011 to 37 percent in 2012, while electricity demand for natural gas rose from 25 percent to 31 percent over the same period. From now to 2020 a total of 34,700 megawatts of coal-fired generators will be shut down by utilities according to Howald.

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Cloud Peak Energy is one of the largest U.S. coal producers and the only pure-play Powder River Basin (PRB) coal company. The company owns and operates three surface coal mines in the PRB, the lowest cost major coal producing region in the nation. Cloud Peak Energy is a sustainable fuel supplier for approximately 4 percent of the nation's electricity.

Patriot Coal is a producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States, with 12 active mining complexes in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin. The company controls approximately 1.9 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. Patriot Coal filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in July.

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