Clean Coal Technology: The Investment Pays Off

Taxpayers for Common Sense put out a factsheet last week that says that government funding for clean coal technologies “has largely been a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

We whole-heartedly disagree. And so do the facts.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) report, “Clean Coal Technology: It Pays Off,” summarizes the benefits of its clean coal technology (CCT) program, which aimed to cut harmful emissions from coal-fired plants, decrease the cost of generating clean energy, create new U.S. jobs, and solidify a partnership between government and the energy industry.

According to the DOE, the CCT program is evidence “that the taxpayers’ investment has paid real and measurable dividends,” and that “technological innovation introduced through the CCT program now provides consumers cost-effective, clean, coal-based energy.”

Among the measurable dividends:

1. SO2 and NOx control technologies were moved into the industrial marketplace, providing affordable regulatory compliance.

2. Affordable retrofits were developed to contain harmful pollutants from existing power plants.

3. Advanced coal-based systems were moved to the commercial sector, representing “a quantum leap in efficiency and performance.”

4. A successful collaboration from the energy industry, universities and state and federal governments.

Furthermore, the DOE report concluded that “a new generation of coal-based power is required to provide the energy to sustain economic growth domestically and internationally, while addressing global and regional environmental concerns.”

So what can we conclude? Well…I guess the Taxpayers for Common Sense folks don’t think clean air, reliable electricity and lower energy costs are worth all that much.

Comments

[Dave]

You can't be serious posting information created in 1999???? It just discredits you completely.

[David with ACCCE]

The point remains the same — investments in technology have huge payoffs for the country as a whole.

[John]

Dave, didn't you bother to read the post before you commented? The point of the data from 1999 was the benefits had continued to be realized for nearly another decade since the report was done. If you're not interested in learning something or contributing to a meaningful dialogue, why do you even bother?

[denis Maguire]

Is CCTI paying a special dividend and annual dividend to shareholders in november 2008?