Archive for July, 2011

The Coal Wire: New Advancements in How Carbon Dioxide is Captured and Used

Yesterday, we talked about how coal can not only continue to generate affordable electricity well into the future, but also can do so in an in an increasingly clean manner. Both the public and private sector have been investing largely in these technologies, and continue to make advancements, especially in the area of carbon capture and storage.

In Montana, the federal government is working with Montana State University to invest in a project that will advance the storage of carbon emissions:

Montana State University has finalized negotiations with the U.S. Department of Energy to begin work on a $67 million, eight-year project to inject and monitor a million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into deep porous rock formations in northern Montana in one of the largest CO2 storage test projects in the country.

In Alabama, Southern Company hosted the Electric Power Research Institute’s annual CCS meeting, where EPRI showcased progress being made in the advanced coal technologies being developed:

“Southern Company remains committed to developing carbon capture and storage technology because we believe 21st century coal must be a resource for the future,” said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning.  ”Technology development is critical to keeping coal a part of our energy mix, along with nuclear, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency, and we have one of the utility industry’s few in-house research and development programs focused on CCS technology.”

Captured carbon emissions aren’t only being stored. They have long been used for enhanced oil recovery purposes. That’s why the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) passed a resolution urging the federal government into invest more in these CCS-EOR projects:

Members of NARUC approved a resolution that urges the 112th Congress and the Obama administration “to restore and increase funding as soon as possible, and eliminate regulatory impediments including, but not limited to, 100% grants to qualified applicants at power plants with a sufficient number of demonstration projects at commercial scale to yield economical use by the oil and gas industry.”

Click here to see how carbon capture and storage technologies work, and how these technologies help our environment while ensuring a reliable supply of affordable electricity.

28 July 2011, 12:21 pm | Posted in Clean Coal Technology and Research, In the States, Reliability | No comments »

Developing Technologies to Balance Economic, Energy and Environmental Security

America’s abundant coal reserves – and our continued use of coal to generate electricity – promotes greater U.S. energy security. The reason is simple: the coal we rely upon is found right here at home, and we have a more than 200-year supply based upon today’s rate of usage. Because of this abundance the U.S. power industry has invested about $90 billion since 1990 to deploy advanced coal technologies to reduce air emissions – while at the same time providing affordable, reliable electricity to meet growing energy needs. And as I pointed out on Monday, coal’s affordability allows businesses to create more jobs, which means more economic security for American families.

As coal needs to remain a fuel for America’s balanced energy portfolio, the coal-based electricity industry is committed to ensuring that future is a clean one. That’s why people like Mark Dunkerley, an engineer and project manager for CONSOL Energy in Pittsburgh, are working on new advanced coal technologies to make coal-fueled power even more efficient:

Mark works on these technologies because he wants to take care of our environment, while also keeping coal as an affordable, reliable source of power:

Click here to learn more about how current advanced coal technologies reduce emissions and increase the operational efficiency of power plants.

27 July 2011, 2:45 pm | Posted in Affordability, Clean Coal Technology and Research, Reliability | No comments »

Three Things You Should Know About Why Americans Depend on Affordable Coal

Why is coal so important? For working families, less money spent on electricity bills means more money for other household necessities. For businesses, providing a reliable supply of affordable electricity is key to getting our economy back on track so we can maintain existing jobs and create millions of new ones.

America’s economic future is on everyone’s mind these days. And how we rebuild our economy and create jobs is at the forefront of our national debate. One of the primary advantages of using coal is the affordable electricity it creates. Here are three things you need to know about coal’s affordability.

First, states that use more coal to energy electricity have lower electricity rates. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration data, electricity in the 34 states that rely on coal as 59 percent of their power is around 20 percent cheaper than the national average. But for states that use less coal, the 16 that rely on coal for only nine percent of their power, electricity is around 30 percent more expensive than the national average. Check it out:

Second, three of the five states in America with the lowest retail electricity prices rely upon coal to generate 80 percent or more of their electricity. Wyoming, Kentucky and Utah rely coal for on 89 percent, 93 percent and 81 percent of their electricity, respectively. They rank first, fourth and fifth for lowest retail electricity costs in the nation.

Third, electricity generated with coal is significantly less expensive than even its closest neighbors, like natural gas. Data from FERC (shown below) shows that in 2010, the average cost of baseload electricity generated with natural gas was 47 percent more expensive than electricity generated with coal. The production cost of coal-fueled generation averaged approximately $33 per megawatt-hour, compared to almost $49 per megawatt-hour for combined cycle natural gas.

Click here to learn more about coal’s affordability, and how it helps American families and job creators.

25 July 2011, 4:50 pm | Posted in Affordability, In the States, Jobs, Reliability | No comments »

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