Our industry is always looking for ways to use technology to make coal-based electricity generation cleaner and more efficient, including the use of its byproducts. Take, for example, the new green bricks under development by CalStar, which is using fly ash in its production of residential and commercial bricks.
According to the Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin BizTimes, the California-based company is expanding its Caledonia, Wisc. plant to a full-scale operation and will obtain its fly ash from a nearby Wisconsin Energy coal plant. The fly ash is an important ingredient as it allows CalStar to cook its bricks at less than 200 degrees for 24 hours. Bricks made from clay? Those may require up to four days of baking time at 2,000 degrees.
Another bonus: the bricks can be used in any masonry project, according to CalStar’s Chief Operating Officer Thomas Pounds. Furthermore, the new bricks will be sold at the same price point as traditional bricks, which Pounds believes will make for a smoother market introduction.
CalStar’s switch to greener manufacturing is giving them some green in return—last Friday, the company received $2.4 million in Wisconsin tax credits.
Read more about these new green bricks via the BizTimes, including a video interview with CalStar’s Thomas Pounds.
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is committed to the idea that America can have the affordable, reliable electricity we need, with the clean environment we want. ACCCE’s Behind the Plug blog is the place for up-to-date news and analysis on clean coal technology developments and energy policy progress.