Rockefeller Seeks Input on Tech to Save Coal Industry - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said he is contacting multiple sides of the coal debate in an attempt to find a way to continue burning coal, but in a way that meets goals of reducing pollution.

In an email, the senator said he is seeking "broad input" about carbon capture and storage challenges and opportunities.

"America is a land of innovation, and we've proven throughout history that we can meet any challenge and reach any goal," Rockefeller said. "We can either decide to do something to address coal's future, or not. I think we can, and we will."

The effort comes weeks after Rockefeller delivered remarks on the Senate floor that many in the coal industry interpreted as a scathing critique of the industry. Rockefeller largely rebuked industry efforts to not give into environmental regulations and resisting change.

Rockefeller said efforts should instead be focused on delivering real solutions to burning coal more efficiently and with controls over carbon emissions.

"The future of coal, and frankly that of all fossil fuels, depends on technology to use energy resources more cleanly," Rockefeller said. "There are many technologies on the horizon, but few are ready to be immediately deployed at commercial scale. Moreover, in order to address global issues like climate change, we must be honest about the need to clean up fossil fuels, especially in developing nations. We have to make the collective choice between developing key technologies of the future here in the United States or ceding that role to other countries."

The challenges of carbon capture and storage are vast. While the coal industry would likely welcome a cheap CCS technology, currently it appears that CCS is going to be costly and difficult to implement.

Further, some believe the CCS technology won't appear at all without first charging the industry for the carbon emits, or forcing carbon emissions reductions. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office looked at what it might take to fully deploy CCS technology.

"Engineers have estimated that, on average, electricity generated by the first CCS-equipped commercial-scale plants would initially be about 75 percent more costly than electricity generated by conventional coal-fired plants," the CBO stated. "That initial cost differential would probably shrink, however, as the technology became more widely applied and equipment manufacturers and construction companies became more familiar with it — a pattern of cost reduction called learning-by-doing."

Scientists have warned that carbon capture, carbon reduction or whatever else can be done to decrease carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is necessary to prevent continued warming trends. Under current law, CCS may not be feasible, the CBO found.

Natural gas can meet current proposed greenhouse gas standards, but new coal plants without some sort of CCS technology or extreme efficiency measures will not fit.

"If, however, new policies restricted or imposed a price on CO2 emissions, the domestic stock of electricity generation plants would turn over more rapidly, and CCS technology would become more competitive economically, increasing the potential for construction of CCS-equipped plants in the United States," the CBO report states. "The amount of investment in CCS would depend on how the costs for the different alternatives would compare with costs for electricity generation without CCS."

Another alternative, the CBO report concluded, may be to set a price on carbon emissions.

Rockefeller said seeking those energy policies which will best advance national interest should be a priority.

"I have long believed that a rational and comprehensive energy policy is a national priority and one that has eluded our nation for far too long," Rockefeller wrote. "Recognizing our current economic and political circumstances, we must focus our efforts on the twin challenges of how best to advance our domestic resources and drive smart investments that spark innovation of new and improved sources of energy. You play a critical part in meeting these challenges."

Last month, Rep. David B. McKinley, R-W.Va., introduced legislation that would "prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing a rule requiring stringent emissions standards for new or existing coal fired power plants, until carbon capture sequestration technology is deemed economically and technically feasible."

The Environmental Protection Agency's proposed standard on greenhouse gas emissions, McKinley said in the July release, would "cripple" the coal industry before it had a chance to install new technologies and reduce carbon emissions.

"This preliminary EPA rule could literally cripple the future of coal because the implementation of carbon capture is not yet technologically or economically feasible," McKinley said.  "Utilities will simply stop building coal-fired power plants and switch to gas fired units. That would result in the loss of thousands of good paying coal jobs."