 Cloud Peak Energy headquarters inGillette, Wyoming | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| OTC Pink:CLDPQ | |
| Founded | 2009; 16 years ago (2009) |
| Headquarters | , United States  |
Number of employees | 1200 |
Cloud Peak Energy Inc. is a company headquartered inGillette, Wyoming, which minescoal in thePowder River Basin. The company was formed as acorporate spin-off fromRio Tinto Energy America in 2009.[1][2] In its 2009 Annual Report Rio Tinto stated that it held a 48.3% stake in Cloud Peak Energy and its directly owned mines.[3] Cloud Peak Energy also has a 50% stake in theDecker Coal Company, which operates the Decker Mine in Montana.[3]
According toThe Guardian, Cloud Peak Energy Inc was responsible for 0.1% of global industrialgreenhouse gas emissions from 1988 to 2015.[4]
In May 2019, Cloud Peak Energy filed forbankruptcy. An analyst pointed to severe declines in demand for Powder River coal from markets in East Asia and the United States.[5]
The firm operates three open pit mines from thick deposits in Wyoming and Montana.[6]
The firm has contracted with theCrow Nation to mine 20 million tons of coal annually on its reservation for shipment by rail to coal terminals in the Pacific Northwest for shipment to Asia. The project is called the Big Metal Project after a legendary Crow chief.[7] Big Metals Coal is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cloud Peak. The facilities of Cloud Peak's Spring Creek Mine are located directly to the east of the reservation and will be available for the use of Big Metal.[8]
Documents that have become public after the bankruptcy show that the company has funded several organizations that are known for spreadingclimate change denial. Among them are theInstitute for Energy Research, athink tank that denies thescientific consensus on climate change and opposesrenewable energy, theCenter for Consumer Freedom, the pro-fossilAmerican Legislative Exchange Council, which says that climate change is uncertain, theMontana Policy Institute which claims that earth is cooling, Koch-fundedAmericans for Prosperity, dark-money-groups such asCrossroads GPS and several other groups and organizations. In the past Cloud Peak Energy has denied any ties to the climate denial movement. For example, Richard Reavey, a vice president for government and public affairs, has stated Cloud Peak Energy “has never fought climate change — never fought it, never denied it or funded anyone who does.”[9]