Affordable energy has never been more important Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/26/2009 01:38:40 PM

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.

We need clean coal, Obama tells Congress Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/24/2009 10:14:27 PM

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.

Governors ask Obama to support CCT Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/23/2009 05:40:14 PM

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.

Fixing the economy means going back to basics Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/23/2009 04:41:51 PM

Tomorrow night, President Obama will tell Congress that his highest priority is getting America’s economy back on track.

I couldn’t agree more.

Sometimes, getting back on track can be as simple as getting back to basics. And for the American economy and quality of life, affordable energy is truly a basic necessity.

Consider this: energy costs are second only to labor costs in determining the viability of a business in a given location. Thus, access to low-cost energy means stronger businesses and more jobs for American workers. Of course, for working families, lower energy costs mean more money to make ends meet in challenging economic times.

I believe affordable energy is critical to our economic recovery, and I would like to hear the president talk about how it is we are going to hold the line on rising energy costs as we meet more stringent environmental standards.

But that’s just my take. What would you like to hear? Tell us here at Behind the Plug, and click here to get involved in keeping energy affordable for American families.

Follow our commentary during President Obama's speech on Twitter.

Study: forests provide bigger carbon sink than previously thought Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/21/2009 03:26:00 PM

Tropical forests are soaking up nearly one-fifth of our planet’s carbon emissions.

According to a new report published in Nature, these forests absorb 4.8 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year. The 40-year study of 250,000 tree records shows that undisturbed tropical forests are an even greater carbon sink than scientists thought.

"We are receiving a free subsidy from nature,” said the report’s lead author, Dr. Simon Lewis of England’s University of Leeds. “Tropical forest trees are absorbing about 18% of the CO2 added to the atmosphere each year … substantially buffering the rate of climate change."

But Mother Nature can’t go it alone.

That’s why we need to continue developing the carbon capture and sequestration technologies of the future, while also working to preserve the planet’s own natural CCS system.

At ACCCE we always say we see the need for silver buckshot (lots of things working together to provide a bigger result) as opposed to thinking there is a silver bullet solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S., Canada pledge to work together on CCS Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/20/2009 05:43:02 PM

President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed an agreement yesterday stating that the clean energy dialogue between the two countries will focus on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology.

According to the Environmental News Service, the two agreed in a joint statement that “A strengthened U.S.-Canada partnership on carbon sequestration will help accelerate private sector investment in commercial scale, near-zero-carbon coal facilities to promote climate and energy security.”

Furthermore, the pair agreed that a commitment from both countries was needed for the effective collaboration “on the development of clean energy science and technologies that will reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change.”

To get the ball rolling and rolling fast, the countries have agreed to coordinate the R&D of CCS at coal-based power plants, using funds from the $3.4 billion reserved for CCS in the newly passed stimulus bill, along with funds from Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The leaders' said they plan to use their experience with the Basin Electric Power* North Dakota-Weyburn project, which shuttles CO2 from a plant to North Dakota to an oil field in Saskatchewan for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

This is indeed an exciting partnership that will bring us closer to our environmental goals, while spurring economic growth and allowing for continued reliability and affordability of electricity.

Basin Electric Power is an ACCCE member.

Clean coal technologies receive $3.4B in stimulus funding Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/18/2009 11:59:00 AM

It's signed, sealed and delivered: President Obama and the 111th Congress have sent a strong message about our country's energy future by including $3.4 billion in funding for clean coal technologies in the economic stimulus package.

Check out ACCCE's official statement on the funding, and stay tuned to Behind the Plug to monitor the progress.

How clean coal can generate $1 trillion of economic output (event coverage) Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/17/2009 10:38:26 AM

Last week, I told you about a report conducted by BBC Research and Consulting that concluded that deployment of advanced coal-based electricity generation facilities (power plants) equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that reduce carbon dioxide emissions could generate $1 trillion of economic output and create 7 million man-years of employment.

We announced the findings last week in Washington, D.C., along with several labor groups: the Industrial Union Council of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).

Below, watch highlights of the event:

Clean coal on the radio Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/12/2009 05:40:15 PM

I was a guest on the Lars Larson Show the other day.

Click the link below to listen to the six-minute segment, in which we talk about President Obama's energy policy and the need for reliable and affordable energy.

Lars Larson Show (MP3)

Our response to the ad critcism Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/12/2009 05:39:20 PM

Recently, one of our advertisements featuring President Obama’s remarks in favor of clean coal has come under scrutiny from Greenpeace. To answer any lingering questions about the content of the ad, I thought I’d post my official response to Greenpeace from January 29:

Mr. Mike Clark
Executive Director
Greenpeace USA
702 H Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Mr. Clark:

I am in receipt of your letter addressed to Steve Gates, our national communications director. Your letter expresses concerns related to our current television ad which features comments made by President Obama regarding the role of clean coal in America’s energy future. While I can appreciate that you might not support the President’s position on this matter, we do.

Throughout the 2008 campaign, President Obama spoke on numerous occasions about American coal’s role in a diverse energy portfolio that creates jobs, promotes energy independence, and, through the use of advanced technologies, allows us to make good on the commitment to reduce the environmental footprint of energy production in this country – including technologies that will allow for the capture and safe storage of CO2 for coal and other fossil-fueled power plants. President Obama’s views were expressed in town hall meetings, on the campaign’s website, in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, and in televised debates with Senator McCain.

How clean coal helps our economic recovery Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/11/2009 02:00:00 PM

The next generation of advanced clean coal technologies – those that capture and safely store carbon dioxide (CO2) - will create millions of high-skilled, high-wage jobs for American workers.

But don't just take our word for it. In a report conducted by BBC Research and Consulting, a coalition of key labor groups find that between 5 million and 7 million man-years of employment could be created during construction and a quarter of a million permanent jobs added from deployment of advanced coal-based electricity generation facilities (power plants) equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The groups involved are the Industrial Union Council of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).

In the video below, Doug Jevons of BBC Research and Consulting explains the new report.

Keeping American jobs on our turf Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/11/2009 11:57:39 AM

Companies all over the country are feeling the effects of the weakened economy. On top of that, anticipated climate change legislation is making it difficult for new ventures to get off the ground.

Take for example this U.S. steel manufacturer, facing the tough decision of building a major iron plant in Louisiana...or beyond U.S borders in Brazil.

While the company—North Carolina-based Nucor—is in good shape financially, the New Orleans Times-Picayune notes that impending legislation that would regulate carbon dioxide could create "huge financial stakes for industrial plants" that emit CO2. The sobering challenge as Nucor's chief operating officer sees it: if new environmental regulations carry a high cost to manufacturers, then companies will look beyond U.S. borders for expansion. And that means even fewer jobs for us here in America.

But here's the thing. I don't think this has to be an either/or situation. We don't have to choose between American jobs and a cleaner environment. This story merely illustrates the need to do things right. And that includes developing and deploying technologies like carbon capture and storage that will allow U.S. businesses to operate here on American soil-feeding communities and families alike.

We know that coal can be a part of our balanced energy portfolio and a low-carbon future. We also know that clean coal technologies can help rejuvenate struggling economies. I believe that between industry and government, we can find a way to put these technologies-and struggling Americans-to work.

A Regrettable Choice for Michigan Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/10/2009 10:50:54 AM

You may have read that Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has decided to delay the process of reviewing air permits for the construction of coal-generated power plants in her state.

This is regrettable.

As American automakers shift to manufacturing plug-in hybrids to keep pace with President Obama’s challenge to put a million of these vehicles on the road, Michigan will require a robust supply of baseload electricity.

And renewable resources such as wind and solar alone will not be sufficient to meet that growing need.

Gov. Granholm also set a goal to reduce the carbon footprint associated with power generation in her state. That goal can be best met through deploying new technologies that capture and store CO2, not through mandates that would lessen Michigan’s reliance on affordable, domestic energy resources like coal – which currently provides more than 60 percent of Michigan’s power.

There are currently eight new coal plants being proposed in Michigan. Each of these projects provides an opportunity to create jobs for Michigan workers and ensure that electricity production keeps pace with the state’s projected energy needs. These plants can be retrofitted with advanced technologies to capture and store CO2. In fact, given the time necessary to permit and construct a new power plant today, it’s possible that these technologies would become available for deployment at or very near the time these new plants are put into operation.

Just like the rest of country, Michigan’s future energy needs will be best met by maintaining a diverse portfolio of energy resources. But even with the expanded use of renewables, coal will still need to play a significant role in meeting those needs.

Clean coal — much more than carbon capture Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/09/2009 12:01:08 PM

In the era of Wikipedia, it seems that if you don’t like the definition of something, you just try to change it.

Some folks seem to imply that we invented the term “clean coal," when in fact that term is far older than our organization.

Our use of the term “clean coal” relates to those technologies aimed at reducing emissions (of all types) from coal-based generation. Congress coined the phrase in the 1980s. At that time, it was used in reference to technologies that reduced sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.

Take this excerpt from U.S. Senate Bill 911 from April 1987:

“The term ‘clean coal technology’ means any technology … deployed at a new or existing facility which will achieve significant reductions in air emissions of sulfur dioxide or oxides of nitrogen associated with the utilization of coal in the generation of electricity.”

As most of you know, these technologies have helped make today’s coal-based generating fleet 77 percent cleaner in terms of emissions currently regulated under existing Clean Air Act programs per unit of energy produced—which include sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

Today, we have our eye on the next generation of clean coal technologies, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions. If it’s true that history repeats itself, then we have an excellent shot at overcoming this challenge. We’re well on our way—we’ve got more than 80 carbon capture and storage demonstration plants right here on U.S. soil.

The many facets of climate change and carbon management Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/05/2009 04:00:18 PM

A recent piece from the London Guardian outlines a number of action items for President Obama in efforts to curb climate change.

I was particularly struck by this passage:

The president must also instruct his cabinet to clarify the impact of global climate change on each of their respective portfolios. Global warming has been crammed into a "green" box for the sake of political expediency. Instead, it must be appreciated for its cross-cutting immensity — it is fundamental to national security, global commerce, economic recovery, energy security, public health and safety, agricultural policy, land-use planning, and environmental protection.

This sentiment meshes well with our 12 legislative climate principles, which call for federal carbon management legislation that preserves the reliability of electricity generation, transmission and distribution system; promotes energy security and reliability; and maintains America’s competitiveness in a global economy.

We believe this can be done, in part, through clean coal technologies—including the capture and storage of carbon dioxide, a belief shared by the UK’s former prime minister, Tony Blair and The Climate Group. In their June 2008 report, they concluded that carbon capture and storage was “a critical and urgent priority” and that “it will be very challenging, if not impossible, to hit significant abatement targets without CCS.”

As we’ve said before, striking a balance between reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting America’s energy security and holding down energy costs for consumers will require hard work. But we believe it can be done, and that President Obama, his team and the 111th Congress will work together to shape legislation that accomplishes these very goals. We look forward to being part of the process.

Tell your senator you stand for clean coal technology Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/04/2009 05:37:58 PM

The U.S. Senate is considering an economic stimulus package that includes $4.6 billion for clean coal technology projects. This amount is consistent with President Obama's commitment to CCT to continue environmental progress. This $4.6 billion is important because:

*It contributes to energy independence, allowing us to use coal that is right here in America

*It stimulates the economy and could create almost 7 million job-years of employment and over $1 trillion in sales

*It will help fight climate change and aid other environmental goals by promoting technologies to reduce carbon dioxide and major air pollutants

ACCCE supports the $4.6 billion for clean coal technology projects in the Senate proposal and wants to make sure that it stays in the final version of a bill. At the same time, we oppose an amendment by Sen. Coburn of Oklahoma that would do away with funding for developing near-zero emissions power plants.

If you feel - as we do - that it is important to adequately fund advanced clean coal technology projects to create jobs, fight climate change and meet other environmental objectives, please take a moment to write to your senators right now. We expect that the Senate will vote on this measure by the end of the week.

Our solutions and what we stand for Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/04/2009 12:00:39 PM

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the chair of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, has released a set of climate change principles. Click here to download the PDF.

At this time last year, we were putting together our own set of climate change principles, outlining ACCCE's support for a mandatory federal plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provided we simultaneously work to protect energy security and keep energy costs affordable for consumers. Striking this balance will require hard work, but it can be done.

For more information, take a look at our 12 legislative climate change principles for federal carbon management legislation (PDF).

It's interesting to see what we have in common.

Even in bad economy, coal helps communities thrive Posted by Joe Lucas on 02/04/2009 09:24:08 AM

Morgantown, W.Va., is thriving despite disparaging times. This recent CNBC interview with Morgantown Mayor Ron Justice demonstrates how coal is contributing to the local economy.

Mayor Justice calls coal the “backbone of the economy” and attributes much of the city’s low unemployment rate (3.2 percent) to coal. From manufacturing and mining jobs to clean coal research at West Virginia University, the diversity of employment options has presented myriad opportunities for residents.

When you compare Morgantown’s local economy to some areas where unemployment rate has reached double digits, it’s clear that coal can be a significant catalyst for economic recovery.

Check out the full interview here—it may cause you to reconsider the role of American coal in your community.