January 2026 showed just how violent this relationship can get: Henry Hub spiked to $30.72/MMBtu on January 23 - a near-tenfold surge - before collapsing to $3.13/MMBtu by February 23. Extreme winter heating demand and supply constraints drove that move - exactly what BOIL is built to capture on the upside, and what devastates holders on the way back down.
The Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) quarterly meeting in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, opened with a triumphant video homage to its work during Winter Storm Fern. Energy had come through, yet again, to defeat extreme cold. The montage credited this to the utility's "coal workhorses," then noted that nuclear provided "uninterrupted power" and "hydro responded instantly." The list ended there, despite years of promises that the agency would bolster renewables and battery storage.
It's a little-known fact that Columbia University, in Manhattan, was home to the first mining school in America-the School of Mines-founded in 1864. For the past three decades, the university's program has been mothballed. Parts of its curriculum were subsumed into the more fashionable subjects of earth and environmental engineering. But next fall, Columbia University will offer a bachelor of science degree in mining engineering once again.
Coalie officially debuted on January 22, when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted him (it?) on his X account. In the post, which has now been viewed more than 37,000 times, Burgum shared an obviously AI-generated illustration of himself kneeling next to a grinning, bug-eyed piece of coal that's decked out in a yellow coal miner's helmet, vest, and boots. The caption, in part, read "Mine, Baby, Mine!"
Coal power generation fell in China and India for the first time since the 1970s last year, in a historic moment that could bring a decline in global emissions, according to analysis. The simultaneous fall in coal-powered electricity in the world's biggest coal-consuming countries had not happened since 1973, according to analysts at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, and was driven by a record roll-out of clean energy projects.
After two years of declines, United States greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2025-a change driven by increased electricity use, due in part to data centers and cryptocurrency mining, as well as cold winter temperatures that meant homes required more heating. Emissions increased 2.4% in 2025, according to preliminary data from the research firm Rhodium Group. That's higher than the country's GDP growth, which increased by a projected 1.9%.