Peabody still in Cuomo’s crosshairs

It’s been more than a year since Democratic New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed Peabody Energy Corp. for information on whether the company had adequately disclosed financial risks of global warming, and the two parties are still apparently locked in a stalemate — at least according to Cuomo.

The son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo on Thursday announced an agreement with power producer Dynegy Inc. regarding a similar request. At a press conference in New York on Thursday, the attorney general was flanked by former Vice President Al Gore,  the author of “An Inconvenient Truth” and recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work helping call attention to the issue of climate change.

In a statement, Cuomo called out Peabody and other two companies that received subpoenas in 2007: AES Corp. and Dominion Resources. He said discussions with the companies is “ongoing.”

Cuomo’s letter to Peabody Chief Executive Gregory H. Boyce last year mentioned the company’s plans to build 3,100 megawatts of coal-fired generation, referring to projects in southern Illinois (the Prairie State project that began construction last year) and western Kentucky (the status of which is still uncertain). It also mentions Peabody’s “other coal-fired power plants” (of which there are none).

St. Louis-based Peabody, the world’s largest private-sector coal producer, apparently considers the matter resolved, according to its regulatory filings. In its most recent quarterly filing with the SEC, Peabody says it has no (working) generating capacity in place and, so:

The company believes that it has made full and proper disclosure of these potential risks.

It should also be noted that Peabody now owns just about 5 percent of the Prairie State project in Illinois, having sold the remaining equity stake to other groups.