New Dept. of Energy partnership a key to unlocking a cleaner energy future Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/28/2009 03:40:13 PM

Exciting news, everyone! This week, ACCCE members Arch Coal, Peabody Energy, Southern Company, American Electric Power and Luminant partnered up with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Carbon Capture Center, a public-private partnership advancing the next generation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

The nation's best scientists and technology experts will come together to help advance large-scale CCS operations. The new center will allow these folks to work on CCS in a real power plant setting, at a size large enough to provide meaningful performance data under real operating conditions to enable scale-up of the technologies.

The center, located at the Power Systems Development Facility in Birmingham, Ala., should be fully operational by 2010.

"As a partner in the National Carbon Capture Center, we will help drive new energy technologies that will allow the United States to meet both its environmental and economic goals," said Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal's chairman and CEO. "We look forward to working alongside foremost energy experts to unlock a cleaner energy future for our planet."

We're with you on that one, chairman. We're excited to see the real-world results taking place.

Michigan says YES to coal-based power plants Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/28/2009 01:19:58 PM

Most Americans nationwide support the use of coal to generate electricity. And why shouldn’t they? Coal is our most abundant resource, and it has long been an economic boon for our nation.

Take this recent Detroit News poll out of Michigan, for example. About 65 percent of readers give Michigan the green light on construction of new coal-generated and nuclear power plants.

In the comments included with the online poll results, many Michiganders made great points highlighting the benefits of coal.

One Detroit resident said that it would be premature to give up on coal-fired power plants, because alternative energy is “not ready for prime time yet.” Like I said before, energy efficiency and renewable energy, even together, aren’t a total solution – they are only part of a much bigger strategy.

A Taylor resident told the story of a recent blackout due to insufficient winds to power turbines. The wind-powered energy stations were not able to keep up with the massive demand placed on the power grid. We certainly wouldn’t have those kinds of problems with coal – it’s a reliable base-load power source.

So, folks, here’s what we learned today: Americans know that coal has a big role to play in our energy future.

Putting your carbon footprint in context Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/25/2009 06:00:00 AM

Finally — somebody else besides me is addressing the elephant in the room.

University of Cambridge physics professor David MacKay recently wrote a CNN.com commentary saying that energy efficiency and renewable energy, even together, aren’t a total solution – they are only part of a much bigger strategy.

MacKay says Americans consume about 250 kilowatt-hours per day (to help put this in context, one kilowatt-hour is the energy used up by turning on a 40-watt bulb for 24 hours). Think that unplugging your cell phone charger is going to help save the environment? Not so much. That phone charger is about 1/100th of the power consumed by a single light bulb. Or the power used in driving an average car for one second. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t stress conservation when we can, but MacKay compared it to “bailing the Titanic with a teaspoon.”

In order to have a serious discussion about the role of energy efficiency and renewable energy, MacKay said we need to think about the numbers. Even if energy-efficient technologies cut our consumption in half, it would be crazy to supply our energy use solely with renewable energy. According to MacKay’s figures, we’d need a wind farm three times the size of California just to deliver a day’s worth of energy to the population of the United States – or 1,575 one-gigawatt nuclear power stations.

So I say, let’s embrace all kinds of options. Energy efficiency is great – but it won’t displace the increase in demand resulting from a growing population and a rebounding economy. Renewable energy – while it will grow -- won’t be enough to supply America with enough power all on its own, and that’s precisely why we need traditional fuels like coal to be part of our viable solution. We’re going to need to rely on coal for the foreseeable future, and generating electricity from coal is less expensive than other energy alternatives. Plus, we’ve got centuries of it. So let’s keep it in the mix.

Let's keep working to make the cap-and-trade bill better Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/21/2009 10:03:06 PM

The news from Capitol Hill tonight is that a House committee passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES).

As Steve Miller, CEO and president of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, said: "We look forward to working with the members of the House of Representatives during the coming weeks to make additional, vital modifications to the ACES Act so that the legislation ultimately enacted by Congress and signed by the president produces environmental benefits, promotes economic prosperity and advancement of technology, and ensures greater energy independence."

Click here for the full statement from Steve Miller.

Video: A $90 billion investment and truth in advertising Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/20/2009 01:50:37 PM

Earlier this week, we told you about the $90 billion investment that the utility industry has invested in technology to reduce emissions.

Today, I sat down to talk a little bit about the study, and truth in advertising. Take a look:

We tried to debate you last year, but you declined, remember? Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/18/2009 04:08:08 PM

Recently, David Roberts, a staff writer at environmental news blog Grist, posted an article in The Huffington Post saying I “ran away like a pansy” and that I “don’t like arguing with people who know what they’re talking about.”

Woah, there. There’s nothing like a little name-calling to hide from an informed debate on our energy policies.

Let me back up a little. In early April, I was interviewed for the “Can Coal Be Earth-Friendly?” episode for news program NOW on PBS. After the show, I participated in an online debate with Roberts. We were given five questions on clean coal and the chance to reply to each other’s answers – and he’s upset because I didn’t want to offer a rebuttal for a few of them.

Honestly, it wasn’t that I felt threatened by the opportunity to argue with the guy. I just didn’t feel like his rebuttal changed the substance of my original answers in any way.

And let me just remind everyone that I initiated an open online dialogue with the folks at Grist, The Huffington Post and the Sierra Club last year and they declined. We invited the major environmental groups to an “equal-time discussion” on common themes that intersect the energy & environmental world. No name calling or mud-slinging, just a straightforward debate relying on accepted facts. We proposed starting with this question: “How do we meet America’s growing energy needs while addressing the climate change issue?”

All of the environmental groups declined.

Here are the facts: We rely on coal today (about half of our electricity is produced by coal). Is there any debate on that subject?

We’re going to need to rely on coal for the foreseeable future, both here in the U.S. and around the world. Generating electricity from coal is less expensive than other energy alternatives. Does anyone doubt the U.S. Department of Energy data backing that up?

Finally, we believe that by continuing to invest in technology, we can reduce emissions even further, including the capture and safe storage of CO­2­.

Next time, Roberts, let’s have a good, clean fight.

New study details industry commitment to CCT Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/15/2009 10:48:55 AM

People ask me all the time, “How much money has the utility industry actually spent to deploy clean coal technologies and reduce emissions?”

According to a new study, the answer is $90 billion since 1990.

This huge expenditure in emission-reduction technologies has made today’s coal-based generating fleet 77 percent cleaner than it was in 1970, in terms of emissions currently regulated under existing Clean Air Act programs per unit of energy produced. At the same time, prices for making electricity from coal have remained stable at about a third of the cost of other base load fuels. Put simply, despite the vast sum the industry has spent on advanced technologies, the price of coal-generated electricity has remained steady.

These findings provide great hope for the future, and should help ease worries that deployment of carbon capture technologies will cause consumer electricity prices to skyrocket.

ACCCE CEO Steve Miller sums it up nicely: “This report conclusively shows that given realistic timeframes technology can solve our environmental challenges without negatively impacting consumers and the economy.”

Tell Congress we need a better climate bill Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/13/2009 05:52:00 PM

As you may know, Congress is currently working out provisions to a climate bill that would affect businesses and families across the country by increasing the cost of energy.

Instead of writing about the limitations of the draft bill, our new Vice President of Media Relations Lisa Camooso Miller sat down in front of the camera to talk about what can be done to improve it.

The Factuality Tour continues: Clean Coal Technology at work Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/11/2009 11:15:37 AM

[We'll be continually posting updates from the Factuality Tour, so be sure to check back regularly for the latest news from the road.]

Steve Gates, our man on the road, didn’t have to travel far to his next stop on the Factuality Tour. In fact, he stayed right in Council Bluffs and headed to MidAmerican Energy’s Walter Scott Energy Center, which is one of America’s cleanest coal-based power plants. Follow along as Steve learns how continually advancing technologies have allowed the coal-based electricity sector to make huge strides in emissions control over the past several decades.

From mine to power plant, coal rides the rails Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/07/2009 10:54:44 AM

[We'll be continually posting updates from the Factuality Tour, so be sure to check back regularly for the latest news from the road.]

While Steve was visiting Black Thunder Mine in Wyoming, he saw coal being loaded onto trains to begin its journey to a power plant near you. In fact, Black Thunder cranks out enough coal to fill 25 miles of railcars a day. That’s a lot of traffic! His next stop, Union Pacific’s Harriman Dispatching Center in Omaha, Neb., went a long way in explaining just how all that coal gets to its next destination.

Watch as Steve learns the in-and-outs of the 24/7, 365-day-a-year job of directing all of Union Pacific’s rail traffic, and come along as he discovers a little bit about our nation’s rail history at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum.

Making CO2 capture a practical reality Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/06/2009 03:27:51 PM

[We'll be in Pittsburgh all week for the Carbon Capture & Sequestration Conference. Look for more updates as the week goes by.]

Listen as James Stranko explains the CO2 Capture Project, which is a consortium of some of the world's largest energy companies and governments working together on carbon capture and storage projects.

It’s a deal: Kansas and Sunflower agree on new coal plant Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/06/2009 12:18:54 PM

Big news in Kansas: Gov. Mark Parkinson announced on Monday that the state and Sunflower Electric Power Company had reached an agreement to build one new 895-megawatt supercritical coal-based power plant on condition the Legislature passes a package of measures on renewable energy—essentially tying one sustainable energy measure to another.

Sounds reasonable to me. We agree with energy efficiency and adding renewable resources to the energy mix … but we also recognize that traditional fuels like coal will be needed to ensure affordable and reliable energy to meet growing demand.

Sunflower’s end of the deal includes the following:

• Sunflower will begin immediate construction on a 179-megawatt wind farm to bring an additional 30-plus megawatts of wind energy online by 2016.

• In addition to using pulverized coal, the plant will also incorporate up to 10 percent of biofuels into the overall fuel mix.

• Sunflower will further reduce emissions through clean coal technologies, including low-NOx burners and the latest carbon mitigation technologies. Sunflower will also undertake substantial energy efficiency measures, including the retirement of two older power stations and investing profits into ongoing energy efficiency measures.

By combining green energy and mitigation, Gov. Parkinson said, "It's entirely possible the carbon impact of this plant is zero, or less than zero." That is something that we had been saying all along. Opponents of building any new coal plants (they oppose every plant regardless of the circumstance) have failed to recognize the long-term opportunities associated with building new, more efficient power plants that can ultimately be retro-fitted with new technologies for carbon capture and storage at lower costs.

In a statement, Sunflower said it was pleased with the proposal as it meets the baseload electricity needs of the region while also promoting renewable energy sources. Personally, I think that is an understatement. This plant had been put on-hold for too long, especially given that the permitting authority had agreed to approve the permit over two years ago.

Yesterday’s news will help boost the Kansas economy, as Sunflower now starts construction that is estimated to create more than 1,500 with a 46-month construction cycle. The new unit is expected to require 50 permanent and full-time employees, resulting in 99 additional new jobs across the state for a total of 149.

We couldn’t be more pleased with this announcement. Besides showcasing the public and private sectors working together to solve our energy and economic challenges, this case proves that coal-based energy can work alongside renewables and energy efficiency measures to reduce emissions, supply affordable baseload power and get Americans back to work.

This announcement also serves as a signal to the opponents of this and all other coal projects that given time, policymakers and others are often able to find a balanced solution that allows them to do what is right for the environment and our economy.

Read the official ACCCE statement on the Sunflower expansion in Kansas.

More details emerge about 1st commercial-scale plant to capture and sequester its own CO2 emissions Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/05/2009 05:40:41 PM

[We'll be in Pittsburgh all week for the Carbon Capture & Sequestration Conference. Look for more updates as the week goes by.]

Michael Morris, the CEO of American Electric Power, wasn’t the first speaker today, but he did have arguably the biggest news to share: his company has received carbon dioxide (CO2) storage permits from the state of West Virginia. This will allow AEP to move forward with the nation’s first commercial-scale power plant to both capture and sequester its own carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

It will go live in September.

We’ve known about this 20-megawatt project in New Haven, W.Va., for awhile now, but now we know when it will be ready to be in action. Morris said he hopes President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu will be on hand when the Mountaineer plant goes live. “It will be a breakthrough day in American history,” Morris said, adding that he thinks there will be widespread deployment of this technology by 2015 (this is sooner than most experts currently believe).

Regarding climate change legislation on Capitol Hill, Morris said he wants Congress to regulate CO2 so that there is certainty about goals and objectives. He warned lawmakers to avoid tactics that would make it too expensive for utilities to provide affordable electricity to consumers. “I don’t think you can go forward with legislation that says ‘turn the lights out in America,’” he said.

NRDC says America must boost carbon capture projects to meet CO2 goals Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/05/2009 05:30:28 PM

[We'll be in Pittsburgh all week for the Carbon Capture & Sequestration Conference. Look for more updates as the week goes by.]

This morning began with remarks from David Hawkins, the director of climate programs for the National Resource Defense Council. Those who are paying attention only to the shallow political discourse of anti-coal TV ads might be surprised to see NRDC address a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) conference. But in fact there is a better relationship between some environmental groups and clean coal technology researchers than many people think.

After all, NRDC knows that America simply cannot meet stringent regulations on carbon management unless CCS is deployed on a large scale.

Hawkins stressed his strong desire to see Congress regulate carbon dioxide (remember, this is something ACCCE agrees with, provided the new law includes the proper consumer protections). He said he wants to see legislation that includes not only performance standards but the money to make it happen.

The conversation on Capitol Hill on the details of such a bill, including the allocation of emission allowances, is going on right now. We look forward to working with people such as Hawkins to figuring out the details of a bill that both protects the environment and provides consumer protection so that our energy costs remain affordable.

A first-of-its-kind research program Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/05/2009 05:24:04 PM

We're in Pittsburgh for the Carbon Capture and Sequestration Conference, talking to the people on the cutting edge of clean energy technology. Watch as Pamela Tomski, founder and director of RECS (Research Experience in Carbon Sequestration), tells us about her program, which provides graduate students and early career professionals an intensive summer research training experience in all aspects of carbon capture and storage:

From mine to plug: The 2009 Factuality Tour explains the coal-generated electricity process Posted by Joe Lucas on 05/04/2009 03:52:53 PM

Here at ACCCE, we know how important coal-generated electricity is to America – I know, our name makes that pretty obvious. But it’s true – half of our country’s power comes from coal. Without it, a lot of us would literally be sitting in the dark. But a lot of people don’t know that – and it’s understandable why that’s the case. It’s so easy to flip the switch, many people just don’t think about where their electricity comes from.

That’s why Steve Gates, our national communications director, went on a cross-country tour to show you exactly where coal comes from - and how it ends up as the electricity powering your life. So be sure to keep up with Steve as he chronicles his visits to our country’s largest coal mine, learns about America’s complex rail network, and visits some of the nation’s most technologically advanced power plants.

Steve’s first stop was Arch Coal’s Black Thunder Surface Mine in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Check out his blog posts from the mine, take a video tour of the world’s largest dragline excavator (Seriously – it’s huge!) and listen as Black Thunder workers talk about how important safety, the environment and land reclamation efforts are to them.