Archive for May, 2011

DOE’s James Wood and Rep. Griffith Talk Jobs and Affordability at the Eastern Coal Conference

The Eastern Coal Conference Council conference was held this week in Kingsport, Tennessee. Alongside lawmakers, regulators and representatives from major coal and energy employers spoke about issues including creating jobs and protecting consumers in the face of costly regulations.

James Wood, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Clean Coal at the U.S. Department of Energy, spoke about who would be hit hardest if electricity prices rose:

“Number one, electric rates are going to go up,” he said. “Number two, whether or not construction jobs in the green industry are created, I think there’s virtually no manufacturing jobs that are likely to be created from the replacement of coal…” The burden of the increasing costs that will result, he said, will be borne primarily by “the not so wealthy,” he said.

Assistant Secretary Wood also took time to tour the America’s Power Clean Coal Mobile Classroom, and noted in his speech that the innovations of clean coal technology have reduced the environmental footprint of coal-based generation, all while that generation has increased by 180 percent.

Rep. Morgan Griffith (R) of Virginia spoke about the great impact that coal has on job creation in his district and across the United States:

Representatives from American Electric Power and Dominion Power discussed some of the current challenges and the bright future of clean coal-based generation in the United States. Lisa Moerner, director of environmental policy and sustainability for Dominion, points out that her company “is making investments in coal right now to help us sustain coal as a fuel for the future.”

Clean coal technology is playing a vital role in powering America’s future. To learn more about what you can do to advance job creation while maintaining affordable energy prices in your state, visit and join over 200,000 others in the America’s Power Army and help spread the word.

31 May 2011, 12:25 pm | Posted in America's Power Tour, Clean Coal Technology and Research, In the States, Jobs, National Affairs | No comments »

The Coal Wire: Powering American Innovation with Clean Energy Technology

Every day, stakeholders across the energy spectrum are taking steps towards deploying carbon capture on a larger scale. Recent successes and studies consistently affirm the role of clean coal innovations in powering America’s growth with a cleaner, more stable, domestic energy source.

American Electric Power’s Mountaineer Plant, working with Alstom Power, recently concluded test operations of one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage project thus far. The results were very successful, capturing as much as 90 percent of the CO2 from the test slipstream and permanently injecting it into the rock formations below. As the Carbon Capture Journal explains, the project is now moving into a second phase:

The formal testing program for the validation project has now been successfully completed. Analysis of the operating results have validated the predictions of Alstom’s process simulation models in terms of energy penalties, CO2 capture rates and ammonia losses, providing further confidence in the robustness of the design for a large-scale demonstration project planned for Mountaineer that would have the ability to capture up to 1.5 million metric tons per year of CO2.

CCS projects like AEP’s Mountaineer plant are on the cutting edge of technology, contributing to America’s energy security while creating good paying jobs. A new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The University of Texas at Austin underscores the need for these projects:

According to the report, the potential for storage of carbon emissions through enhanced oil recovery is vast. Scientists believe the principal zones for combining EOR [Enhanced Oil Recovery] and CCS could accommodate 3,500 gigawatt-years-equivalent of CO2 from coal power plants… As a tool for enhanced oil recovery, CO2 injected underground could boost domestic oil production by as much as three million barrels a day by 2030, according to one estimate, an increase of more than 50 percent over current levels.

The report adds that the U.S. must “accelerate efforts to pursue carbon capture and storage… including regulatory changes,” because “such a boost to U.S. energy security would simultaneously help reduce the country’s carbon footprint.” Regulations and job creation were also a theme at the Eastern Coal Conference this year. Ross Eisenberg, environmental and energy counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, explained the problem with stalled energy projects:

If just a few of the projects instead moved forward, he said – perhaps because of new rules that could shorten the lengthy permitting process – it could bring billions of dollars of investment into the economy and create tens of thousands of jobs. If all of them were built, he said, the figure would be hundreds of billions of dollars – and hundreds of thousands of jobs. But that investment isn’t happening right now, and those jobs are not being created, according to Eisenberg. And the federal regulatory climate makes it unclear what – if anything – will be able to get a permit in even the near future.

Projects like the AEP Mountaineer plant and the SWEPCO Turk Plant in Southwest Arkansas are already creating American jobs through energy innovation. CO2 is being captured and stored in other projects around the country, and research and investment is advancing daily. Coal is one of America’s most abundant energy resource, and with projects like these, it will be a source of innovation and job creation well into the future.

25 May 2011, 11:54 am | Posted in America's Power Tour, Clean Coal Technology and Research, The Coal Wire | 1 comment »

By The Numbers: As America Grows, Coal Emissions Fall

The coal-based electricity industry is continually improving technology and efficiency so that we can reduce the specific emissions from power plants while providing a domestic source of affordable energy.

Coal-Based Electricity Emissions

The above graphic was created using statistics from the Energy Information Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. From 1970 to today, growth has skyrocketed in America on three levels. The U.S. has had:

  • 48 percent growth in population
  • 180 percent growth in the use of coal for electricity generation, and
  • 209 percent growth in gross domestic product

Coal has consistently helped to keep American consumer electricity prices stable – which is why it is here to stay. And with a focus on new technology and innovation to for further emissions reductions, Vice President Joe Biden has acknowledged advanced coal technologies as an area that can provide “great opportunity for common efforts to find clean energy solutions.”

According to the EPA, from 1970 to 2009, the coal-based electricity industry has had:

  • 56.6 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions
  • 38.7 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides emissions, and
  • 93.1 percent reduction in emissions of particulate matter

Right now new plants and technologies are being deployed that are even more efficient and environmentally friendly. It is clean coal technology innovation like this that creates jobs, provides opportunities in research and development, and further reduces the environmental footprint for one of America’s most abundant energy resources.

23 May 2011, 1:47 pm | Posted in Clean Coal Technology and Research, National Affairs, Statistics | No comments »

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