Algae: Another Kind of Clean Coal Technology Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/30/2009 10:26:19 AM

Last year, after watching an NBC Nightly News piece about algae, I wrote that coal and algae are a perfect clean energy pair.

The news today is that Dow Chemical and Algenol Biofuels are going to build a demonstration plant that will use algae to turn carbon dioxide into ethanol, which will be used as a transportation fuel additive or an ingredient in plastics.

The plant could produce up to 100,000 gallons of ethanol per year.

The idea is simple: instead of releasing CO2 emissions from coal-generated power plants into the air, it will be pumped into a tank of algae. The algae eat the CO2, which then converts into ethanol and oxygen.

Advantages:

• The ethanol can be sold as a vehicle fuel

• The oxygen can be used to burn coal to generate electricity

• The end product can be used as an ingredient to make plastics, replacing the need for using natural gas.

Scientists and environmental groups have given this process a thumbs up, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to get the project going on a commercial scale.

Today's climate change vote Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/26/2009 08:47:05 PM

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2998). Click here to read our reaction.

Why the Sierra Club’s actions are appalling Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/26/2009 01:54:33 PM

When Sierra Club's chief climate counsel David Bookbinder said “we hope to clog up the system” last year (as quoted in the Los Angeles Times), I was saddened by what I saw as such a blatant misuse of our nation’s legal system, given that the strategy was only being used to delay energy projects that had already been thoroughly vetted and properly permitted by state regulatory agencies.

Having just returned from Southwest Arkansas where I met men and women proud of their jobs building a state-of-the-art coal plant that meets and exceeds every environmental standard set forth by state regulations, I am even more than appalled at what I see as a miscarriage of justice.

Obama’s enviro adviser says coal is here to stay Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/26/2009 11:58:05 AM

As you’ve heard us say before, coal will continue to be a vital part of our energy mix in the future.

But don’t take it from us. Listen to Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

As President Obama’s chief environmental adviser, Sutley tells it like it is. “Clearly coal is a part of our energy mix now and it’s likely to be so in the future,” she said. “But even if we were to stop using coal tomorrow, it’s used around the world and we have to deal with its environmental impacts.”

Sutley specifically mentioned carbon capture and sequestration as a “promising” technology that will help stem carbon dioxide emissions, and urged people to support clean coal technology.

“Investing in the technology, investing in innovation in how coal is used to produce electricity, is very important not only for our country and our economy but really for the entire world,” she said. “We can be a leader in providing the innovation and research that will get us to be able to deal with the effects of burning coal and try to address carbon capture and sequestration. These are important technologies that we’re going to need.”

Haven’t we been saying that all along?

Check out Sutley’s video and her interview transcript. She talks about the climate bill, what it’s like to be the environmental top banana and Obama’s clean energy projects.

Answering questions on FutureGen Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/24/2009 10:40:53 AM

(The FutureGen discussion begins at the 10-minute mark.)

As many of you know, the Obama administration gave conditional support today for a federal-industry partnership that would build an advanced coal-burning power plant in Illinois to trap and store carbon dioxide emissions.

The project, dubbed FutureGen, will be built in Mattoon, Ill.

President Obama has mentioned five one-of-a-kind carbon capture and storage projects that his administration would be willing to fund.

ACCCE CEO Steve Miller appeared on Clean Skies Sunday, an online TV show, to talk about the project and answer tough questions about the future of clean coal technology.

Safe CO2 storage 101 Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/23/2009 05:45:17 PM

Carbon capture and sequestration is a viable and safe option to store carbon dioxide emissions. According to an MIT study, CCS is the “common-sense, cost-effective means of ultimately reducing atmospheric concentrations of CO2.”

Other groups like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency have said that a reduction on greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale is not possible without successful deployment of carbon capture and storage. 

Research conducted through joint partnerships between private industry, academia and the U.S. Department of Energy shows that there are a number of geological formations that will allow us to safely store CO2 underground and ensure that these greenhouse gases do not enter into the atmosphere. 

In fact, North America has enough storage capacity at our current rate of production to store more than 900 years worth of carbon dioxide. And in some cases, the captured CO2 emissions can be used for beneficial purposes such as enhanced oil recovery.

Clean coal jobs ARE green jobs Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/23/2009 10:08:29 AM

It’s about time people think about the words they’re using to talk about green jobs. Because according to a recent post in the New York Times Green Inc. blog, clean coal jobs are apparently (according to the blog’s author) NOT considered green jobs.

What could be greener of a job than working to make America’s most abundant energy resource even cleaner by developing and deploying technology to remove pollutants?

The blog post discussed a Pew Charitable Trusts study on green job growth and included Pew’s exact definition of what a green jobs is: one that “generates jobs, businesses and investments while expanding clean energy production, increasing energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution, and conserving water and other natural resources.”

To any reasonable person, Pew’s definition of green jobs sounds an awful lot like the jobs that come along with clean coal technology. Studies show that coal-generated electricity plants using carbon capture and sequestration and other clean coal technologies promote job growth, boost the local economy and reduce emissions.

In a report conducted by BBC Research and Consulting, a coalition of key labor groups found that the deployment of power plants equipped with CCS could generate $1 trillion of economic output and create between 5 million and 7 million man-years of employment during construction and a quarter of a million permanent jobs. 

Maybe that’s why President Obama consistently talked about how investing in the next generation of clean coal technologies was a key part of his Administration’s green energy plan – just something else for the folks at the Green Inc. blog to keep in mind.

Major Players Talk Clean Coal Technology Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/22/2009 05:50:18 PM

In the lead up to a House floor vote on H.R. 2454 – The American Energy and Security Act of 2009 -- much has been said about the importance of clean coal technology in an overall energy policy. Click here for a sampling of those comments.

MIT says CCS is essential Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/19/2009 04:42:16 PM

While we haven’t had an opportunity to examine the specific findings of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) study, we strongly concur with the report's conclusion that advanced, clean coal technologies for carbon capture and storage are essential for America-and nations around the world-to address climate change concerns and provide affordable, reliable electricity.

According to their report, “carbon capture and storage technology is a common-sense, cost-effective means of ultimately reducing atmospheric concentrations of CO2.”

For more on our reaction to the MIT report, click here.

Scrutiny cuts both ways Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/18/2009 12:19:17 PM

Last year, there were outcries from some activists who complained that our television ads were misleading. Like all TV ads (print and radio too), our ads were scrutinized by the standards and practices compliance folks at the networks that aired them (yes, 4 out of 5 dentists surveyed really did recommend Trident to their patients who chewed gum). Bottom line, you can’t just something in an ad – you have to prove it. Obviously that same practice is not being practiced with what I would call “word of mouth” advertising on the street.

Yesterday, I had an interesting encounter on the streets in downtown D.C. with Environment America, a group that has hired hundreds of folks to do “word of mouth” advertising on streets in major U.S. cities.

The man who stopped me on the street was a nice enough guy, and I liked his enthusiasm. What I didn’t like was the false message he was providing.

His said Environment America was supporting President Obama’s clean energy agenda. But the material he was handing out talked about “big oil” and “dirty coal.”

Now, I’ll let the oil folks defend themselves – but I couldn’t help but ask the young man why his pitch had such negative references to coal, especially given the national television ads where President Obama talks favorably about “clean coal technology.”

His response shocked me.

Look who's talking about clean coal technology Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/16/2009 08:41:12 AM

Now that FutureGen (a public-private partnership to construct the world’s first near-zero emissions coal-based power plant) is on its way to getting the funding it needs, it seems like just about everybody is talking about clean coal technology (our clean coal Twitter feed is going crazy!).

Check out some of the things officials on both sides of the aisle have said this month about clean coal technology:

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on FutureGen: "This important step shows the administration's commitment to investing in carbon capture and sequestration technology as part of a comprehensive plan to create green jobs in the US while reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Not only does this research have the potential to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions in the US, but it also could eventually result in lower emissions around the world."

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) “About 50% of electricity generated in the United States is generated by coal and a lot of it in the south. We’re leaders in clean coal technology. Mississippi power company, a subsidiary of southern company, has in permitting right now an IGCC, that is a coal gasification plant where they would take Mississippi coal, turn it into gas, burn the gas, but then they would capture the carbon. And sequester by putting it in the ground just to store it, but by using it for recover arrive oil. Something we're already doing.”

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) “Coal is probably used more around the world than even oil and gas for the production of electricity. ... So the strategy is to clean coal and to expand clean natural gas drilling…and then promote alternative fuels.”

And remember, you don’t have to be a big-time official join the conversation about clean coal technology — @reply us at AmericasPower on Twitter and let us know what you think about FutureGen and clean coal technology (CCT).

FutureGen, a Blueprint for Clean Energy Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/12/2009 05:55:40 PM

Hot off the presses is this story: "The Obama administration gave conditional support today for a federal-industry partnership that would build an advanced coal-burning power plant in Illinois to trap and store carbon dioxide emissions."

The project, dubbed FutureGen, will be built in Mattoon, Ill.

President Obama has mentioned five one-of-a-kind carbon capture and storage projects that his administration would be willing to fund.

The Obama administration is to be commended for their decision to reinstate the FutureGen program and fast-track the development of this extremely valuable project.

It is reassuring to know that the president supports the development and implementation of clean coal technology into our energy portfolio. Given that FutureGen is the first commercial-scale, "fully integrated" carbon capture and sequestration project in the country, we are hopeful that its success will become a blueprint for the coal-based electricity sector going forward.

Talking coal in Traverse City, Mich. Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/12/2009 02:34:30 PM

I got the opportunity to do a radio interview this week on WTCM in Traverse City, Mich. My main message? We’re going to need all our domestic resources to keep up with America’s energy consumption – that means keeping coal in the mix.

Check out the radio interview.

DOE makes $1.4 billion available to CCS Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/09/2009 06:35:49 PM

The U.S. Department of Energy is making $1.4 billion available to carbon capture and sequestration projects to industrial facilities, including coal-generated power plants. Click here to read my response.

Making clean coal an energy priority Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/05/2009 04:29:56 PM

Our own Lisa Camooso Miller, vice president of media relations, appeared on a show called "Mills on the Hill" — a program produced by a Capitol Hill publication called The Hill.

Take a look! (Video starts after a short commercial.)

Setting the record straight on who we are Posted by Joe Lucas on 06/03/2009 01:46:06 PM

Earlier this week, blogger Kevin Grandia posted an entry on several Web sites including the Huffington Post in which he says that our media partners did not disclose that cleancoalusa.org belongs to ACCCE.

Grandia had been looking at a memo referring to work that had taken place years ago, back when that site was run by the Coal-Based Generation Stakeholders (CBGS) — a now-defunct organization that was distinct from ACCCE. We control that site now and are as transparent as possible about who our members are.

Grandia didn't ask us for clarification before posting his blog entry, but our new vice president of media relations, Lisa Miller, sent him a note explaining the issue. I've pasted it below:

Dear Kevin,

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself, given your column in the Huffington Post about ACCCE. I took over last month as the head of our media affairs division, and I’ll always make myself or someone on my staff available to talk to you for future articles.

It’s too bad you didn’t check with us before publishing your blog entry. We could have cleared up the confusion you have about ACCCE and the CleanCoalUSA site.

You said we don’t list who owns CleanCoalUSA, but we list the entire membership on the site: http://www.cleancoalusa.org/docs/members/

You reference a memo from R&R Partners that is years old and involves the original owners of the site CleanCoalUSA site, a now-defunct group called the Coal-Based Generation Stakeholders (CBGS).

While CBGS had many of the same members as ACCCE has today, the membership list was not identical. When the America’s Power campaign, led by ACCCE, began in 2007, the need for CBGS went away and they dissipated.

I hope that clears things up. Looking forward to working together in the future.

Best,

Lisa Camooso Miller

ACCCE Vice President, Media Relations