The company created NDR Energy Group, a wholesale electricity division that will market and distribute throughout the US.

“I am happy to announce our development of a new power division at NDR,” NDR Energy Group president Ken Harris said.

He said Mike Duvall, who manages the company’s Houston office and was a power and electric transactions expert, was a perfect partner to help it leverage utility company relationships for its effort.

“As we increase our volume and sales concerning base load natural gas transactions, it is critical that we have the vision to diversify and exploit new opportunities as they present,” Harris said.

“It is a natural progression for NDR to move into power and electric sales."

The electric power division will be operated from NDR’s offices in Houston.

Publicly-held Universal Bioenergy, founded in 2004, closed a 40% acquisition of the Whitesburg Friday Branch mine complex in eastern Kentucky.

It said earlier this month that it was projecting big things as it began to sell commercial thermal coal.

The California-based company said that, with the start of sales, it expected the mine would begin generating cash flow. It has projected a revenue average of $US52.8 million and earnings of $5 million to $8 million each year.

Universal picked up its interest in the Whitesburg Friday Branch mine on February 28.

Marketing of the thermal output to its electricity generation customers is underway, and estimated revenues over the next five years could exceed $264 million.

Under its ownership structure, Universal will purchase coal from Whitesburg and sell it directly.

Through Whitesburg, the firm has more than 3Mt of recoverable coal under contract from the mine’s Elkhorn No 3 seam in Letcher County.

Whitesburg extracts coal via surface and highwall mining methods and its equipment fleet includes Caterpillar bulldozers with single-shank rippers and SU-blade and rippers, hydraulic excavators, loaders, trucks and other associated equipment.