Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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July 15, 2010

Legislation pushes clean coal

By CHARLES OWENS Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., joined U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, Wednesday in introducing bipartisan legislation that promotes research and creates incentives for the development and deployment of clean coal technologies and carbon storage techniques.

The Carbon Capture and Storage Deployment Act of 2010 will invest in clean coal and carbon capture and storage techniques, according to Rockefeller.

The two lawmakers released a joint statement Wednesday explaining the proposed legislation.

“West Virginia is one of the leading coal-producers in our country; our coal miners keep the lights on in so many American homes and provide nearly half the electricity to this country,” Rockefeller said. “This bipartisan legislation represents the next generation of our energy economy — one that invests in clean coal and CCS technologies, and keeps America less reliant on foreign fuel sources. Senator Voinovich and I understand that if America is going to remain competitive, we must have a real plan to invest in carbon capture and storage—so coal continues to play an effective role well into the future.”

Voinovich said Ohio uses coal for more than 85 percent of its energy needs.

“Reliable and affordable energy is the lifeblood of a vibrant economy,”  Voinovich said in the prepared statement. “In fact, Ohio’s position as a manufacturing center is largely attributable to its historical access to a readily available, low-cost energy supply. Coal is our nation’s most abundant and affordable domestic source of energy — it is vital that we find innovative ways to move cleaner coal forward and create much needed jobs. Ohio uses coal for over 85 percent of its energy and the United States could meet its energy demands for 250 years with the available domestic coal. Our legislation arms the private sector with the tools to promote domestic advanced energy sources and cultivate job growth. I look forward to working with my partner, Senator Rockefeller, to move technologies like CCS forward.”

The legislation if approved will authorize a cooperative industry-government research and development program in the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy to spur additional carbon capture and storage-related research and development, according to the statement from the two lawmakers. The Industry partners would be required to match up to 20 percent of the government’s investment.

The “Pioneer Phase” of the legislation calls for the deployment of 20 gigawatts of carbon capture and storage capacity. The legislation would provide tax credits based on the amount of carbon dioxide captured at facilities, providing price certainty for investors in power plants and industrial facilities

This legislation aims to spur private sector development and innovation of clean technologies to dramatically reduce air pollution and capture and store greenhouse gases, Rockefeller and Voinovich said.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

 

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