Climate Progress: One of the Largest Coal Companies in the United States Just Filed For Bankruptcy

Arch Coal, one of the United States’ largest coal companies, filed for bankruptcy on Monday in the hopes of eliminating more than $4.5 billion in long-term debt, according to a press release issued by the company.

The news comes as several of Arch’s competitors -- Patriot Coal, Walter Energy, and Alpha Natural Resources -- have also filed for bankruptcy. Arch Coal is the second-largest supplier of coal in the United States behind Peabody Energy, and its mines represent 13 percent of America’s coal supply.

Bloomberg: Would-Be Comeback Kid Tinkler Says Coal Industry Far From Doomed

After watching his fortune evaporate during the coal industry meltdown, you’d think Australian electrician-turned-entrepreneur Nathan Tinkler would have walked away from the industry for good. Instead, he’s chastened and back in the game.

Coal is under siege as activists pressure utilities to close aging power plants, nations take their boldest steps yet to cut pollution, and President Barack Obama imposes tougher regulations in the U.S. Even with those headwinds and prices languishing at the lowest levels since 2006, Tinkler, 39, is making deals again as chief executive officer of Australian Pacific Coal Ltd.

Wired: How GM Beat Tesla to the First True Mass-Market Electric Car

General Motors first unveiled the Chevy Bolt as a concept car in January 2015, billing it as a vehicle that would offer 200 miles of range for just $30,000 (after a $7,500 federal tax credit). Barring any unforeseen delays, the first Bolts will roll off the production line at GM’s Orion Assembly facility in Michigan by the end of 2016. As Pam Fletcher, GM’s executive chief engineer for electric vehicles, recently put it to me with a confident grin: “Who wants to be second?”

For GM, the Bolt stands to offer a head start in a new kind of market for electric cars. But for the rest of us, there’s a broader significance to this news.

MacRumors: Apple Registers 'Apple.car' and Other Auto-Related Domains

Apple has registered a trio of auto-related top-level domain names, including apple.car, apple.cars and apple.auto. Whois records updated on January 8 show that Apple registered the domains through sponsoring registrar MarkMonitor Inc. in December 2015, although the addresses are not yet active.

The domains could be related to CarPlay, but there will naturally be speculation about their possible relation to Apple's much-rumored electric vehicle plans. Multiple reports over the past year said Apple has a secretive team of hundreds working on an electric vehicle with a prospective 2019 or 2020 shipping date.

Windpower Engineering: London Array Sets New Record for Offshore Wind Generation

The world’s largest operational offshore wind farm, London Array, has set a new record for the amount of clean electricity produced by an offshore project in a single calendar month.

December 2015 saw its 175 turbines generate 369,000 MWh of electricity -- considerably above target and well above the previous best of 317,000 MWh set last November. The capacity factor for the month, which saw average wind speeds of 11.9 m/s (27 mph), was 78.9%.