May 21--BRISTOL, Va. -- Coal's future isn't as grim as some in the industry predict, Alpha Natural Resources executives told the Bristol Herald Courier on Wednesday.

"Certainly there's a sentiment of what we need to do in the United States, whether it's conservation or it's renewables or whatever, but when you look at the math, particularly over the next 15 to 20 years, coal's producing 40 percent of electricity," CEO Michael Quillen said, during a visit with the Herald Courier's editorial board.

"I'm still convinced there's technology we're going to discover that's going to work on the CO2, the global warming side," Quillen said. "We just go with the math, and the math says coal is not going to go away."

Kevin Crutchfield, president of the company, said despite a decreased demand for energy and metallurgical coal this year, the nation will recover from its economic recession, the world will start making steel again and Alpha will be very well-positioned when it does.

"When people start talking about 'We're going to solve all of our dependence on foreign oil and we're going to cut carbon emissions with electric cars,' we just smile," Quillen said. "It's got to be powered by something, and it's not going to be windmills and solar panels."

But the potential challenges are very real, they caution. There's the pressure of an ever-growing global population, the higher cost of energy that will come from carbon regulation in the United States, and the difficulty of finding renewable energy investments that will actually make money.

Certain industries simply won't be able to operate under such laws, they said, and they will be the first to move offshore, followed by others seeking lower-cost energy. Such moves could be devastating for the economy.

"What I find fascinating about the whole thing is the argument hasn't been taken to the people about what this is going to mean to you and your pocketbook," Crutchfield said.

Quillen and Crutchfield also talked about their recently announced merger with Maryland-based Foundation Coal Holdings and their ongoing commitment to Southwest Virginia.

Quillen still talks about the men who quit perfectly good jobs to come work for him not too many years ago, betting their livelihoods on a business experiment that is now a soon-to-be Fortune 500 company with a reputation for doing things differently.

The merger with Foundation Coal was about diversification, they said -- and they're still out looking for a "third leg of the stool."

Alpha is expanding its footprint to other regions, expanding its products to include more steam coal used by utilities, making it possible to draw on a larger base of investors, operating on a larger scale that will make it easier to weather challenges, and bringing more jobs to its Abingdon headquarters.

"We think there's value in being near the folks that keep the lights on," said Kevin Crutchfield, who noted that all of the company's operations in the region are within an hour's ride by car or helicopter from Abingdon.

Crutchfield doesn't see an end to surface mining in the future, though he does believe smaller projects will become the norm.

Quillen said technology ultimately will solve the global warming issue.

"Trying to eliminate everything we do, it's the zealots who are the ones creating the issue because they can clearly tell you what they're against, but they can't tell you what they're for," Crutchfield said.

"It's about balance," he said. "Until we have the silver bullet, it's a little bit of everything."

dmccown@bristolnews.com| (276) 791-070

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