Archive for February, 2009

Affordable energy has never been more important

I’ve mentioned a few times that affordable energy is vital to rebuilding our economy.

What do I mean by that?

Well, it’s a fact that American businesses need affordable electricity.

According to Economy.com’s 2008 North American Business Cost Review, energy costs are second only to labor costs in determining the viability of a business in a given location.

So that’s why you see states like Kentucky with traditional low-cost energy doing very well at attracting manufacturing jobs. Georgia doesn’t have many coal industry jobs, but coal provides over 60 percent of the state’s electricity. As a result of the low electricity prices that coal provides, Georgia sees a significant economic impact. Other states like California and several in New England that have among the highest costs of electricity have lost industry.

How expensive is electricity in your state? Take a look at this map.

Remember, coal is a third of the price of other fuels, so it’s likely that if coal provides the majority of electricity in your state… you’ll have cheaper power and be in a better position to attract businesses.

26 February 2009, 1:38 pm | Posted in Affordability | 98 comments »

We Need Clean Coal, Obama Tells Congress

Rebuilding America's economic future "begins with energy," President Obama told a joint session of Congress tonight.

He said we'll need all our energy sources, including clean coal.

There is no doubt that affordable energy is critical to our economic recovery. As we meet more stringent environmental standards, we'll need to do so while holding the line on rising energy costs. After all, affordable energy is truly a basic necessity in today's society.

And remember, coal is less than one-third the cost of other energy sources.

(As for those environmental standards, take a look at how far we've come since 1970.)

Look, these are challenging times. There's no silver bullet solutions to protecting American jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. That's why I always talk about the need for a silver buckshot, meaning lots of things working together to provide a bigger result.

With that in mind, click here to get involved in keeping energy affordable for American families.

24 February 2009, 10:14 pm | Posted in National Affairs | 15 comments »

Governors ask Obama to support CCT

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. and Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal wrote a letter to President Obama on Sunday, calling for him to support the development of clean coal technology.

“Finding a way to use our nation’s rich supplies of coal in a manner that avoids emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants is absolutely vital to the success of any national effort to reduce emissions, promote national security and create jobs,” the three governors wrote.

The letter was also delivered to Carol Browner, assistant to the president on energy and climate change, and to Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Read the full letter below:

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. President:

Finding a way to use our Nation’s rich supplies of coal in a manner that avoids emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants is absolutely vital to the success of any national effort to reduce emissions, promote national security and create jobs. Our Nation must also take the lead in developing truly clean-coal technologies that can be adopted by rapidly industrializing nations such as China and India.

It is with these goals firmly in mind that we report that our three states and an informal consortium of other stakeholders are prepared to move rapidly to develop new and retrofit clean coal demonstration projects that incorporate carbon capture and sequestration. However, it is clear to us that taking technology from the laboratory bench to commercial-scale demonstration plants simply will not occur without a significant federal commitment of resources. Therefore, we are writing to urge you to thoroughly consider significant funding for federal-state-private efforts to construct new and retrofit demonstration clean coal facilities that use western coals and are capable of operating at altitude.

Read more >>

23 February 2009, 5:40 pm | Posted in Carbon Capture, Clean Coal, Current Affairs | 1 comment »
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