A final thought from Pittsburgh Posted by Joe Lucas on 11/20/2009 02:53:05 PM

This is the third in a series of posts from ACCCE’s National Communications Director, Steve Gates, who attended the Regional Carbon Sequestration Conference in Pittsburgh, Penn., from November 16-19, 2009.

Conferences like the one I attended this week in Pittsburgh can be a bit overwhelming because of all the information that is discussed in a relatively small amount of time. For my final assignment this week from the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships Annual Review, I was asked to summarize what I learned about the status of carbon sequestration in the U.S. – a daunting task to say the least.

After hearing details from researchers and government officials about the latest stages of terrestrial and underground sequestration projects, one thing is sure: Carbon sequestration is a reality today.

For the critics of CCS, my only word of advice for you is to attend an event like this to learn just how far the technology has progressed over the past few years. It’s true, massive scientific endeavors like storing CO₂ in geologic formations (as well as other processes) in the United States is not something that will happen on a wide scale tomorrow.

Remember, scientific breakthroughs need to be tested on a small scale first (usually in a laboratory), then rolled out into larger pilot test projects (where they are currently), and then finally for wide-spread deployment. (The National Energy Technology Laboratory has set a goal of making commercial-scale CCS technologies ready to deploy in the U.S. by 2020.)

I leave Pittsburgh with a renewed sense of optimism that CCS on a wide scale is getting closer all the time, and that meetings such as this one make that goal one-step closer to reality. Ultimately, CCS needs a collaborative multinational approach to reach its full potential, and meetings like the Regional Carbon Sequestration Conference not only help achieve that goal, it shows that the research needed for long-term success is moving ahead every day.

CCS success: Notes from day two of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Conference Posted by Joe Lucas on 11/19/2009 09:00:00 AM

This is the second in a series of posts from ACCCE’s National Communications Director, Steve Gates, who is attending the Regional Carbon Sequestration Conference underway in Pittsburgh, Penn.

For those who might question the substance behind CCS, I have one thing to say: You should have come to Pittsburgh.

On day two of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships Annual Review Meeting, more than a dozen researchers and government officials presented scores of charts, maps, photos and numbers detailing the latest stages of underground sequestration projects. The overriding message? CCS is working.

Across the country, scientists are injecting hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the ground to test the long-term storage of the greenhouse gas.

Among the many factors researchers are weighing: How much pressure can the ground tolerate? How would earthquakes affect underground storage? How much ground would be needed to store CO₂ generated by a coal plant year after year?

Findings presented Tuesday on three projects show the promise of underground carbon sequestration:

1. Based on results of CO₂ injection into coal seams in the Williston Basin, researchers have determined that lignite coal seams are an attractive option for storage. In fact, a senior adviser at the Energy and Environment Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota noted that researchers have concluded that there exists 100 years worth of CO₂ storage for a 500 megawatt power plant in the region.

2. James Sorenson, a senior research manager at EERC reported continued success from the Plains CO₂ Reduction Partnership’s “Huff and Puff” project, which has been pumping CO₂ into an oil reservoir about 8,000 feet deep in Northwest North Dakota. Oil fields in the region, Sorenson believes, are “the lowest-hanging fruit in regard to CO₂ injection opportunities.”

3. University of Texas research scientist Susan Hovorka told the Factuality team that the Gulf Coast is home to the largest volume of underground sequestration of CO₂ in the U.S., noting that one million tons of CO₂ has been safely pumped into old oil wells in Mississippi in the last 15 months.

We’ve seen so much progress on CCS in the last day—and there's still plenty more to come from the conference. Stay tuned.

Terrestrial sequestration: Notes from the Regional Carbon Sequestration Conference Posted by Joe Lucas on 11/17/2009 01:00:00 PM

This is the first in a series of posts from ACCCE’s National Communications Director, Steve Gates, who is attending the Regional Carbon Sequestration Conference underway in Pittsburgh, Penn.

Whether you’ve heard it here or elsewhere, carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, has become a real part of the climate change conversation.

And while we support technology initiatives to safely capture and store carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal-based power plants, such as American Electric Power’s Mountaineer plant in West Virginia, we realize that sequestering CO₂ into geological formations isn’t the only way to permanently store these emissions.

In fact, yesterday during the first day of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership’s Annual Review in Pittsburgh, we heard from researchers who offered updates on carbon sequestration projects of a different kind: using the power of Mother Nature —wetlands, forests and grasslands—to absorb huge volumes of CO₂.

Edward N. Steadman represented the Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership.

Among the most interesting projects is the Plains CO₂ Reduction Partnership (PCOR), which has explored revised land management practices to preserve wetlands across the upper Midwest. PCOR has partnered with Ducks Unlimited, a conservation group that seeks to protect waterfowl. The science behind the project, according to PCOR Project Manager Edward Steadman is that revitalized wetlands naturally sequester CO₂ while providing a renewed habitat for animals.

Another group also exploring the potential for wetlands is the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP). In Maryland, federal agencies are spearheading an effort to restore up to 20,000 acres of tidal marsh in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Researchers associated with MRCSP are weighing how that restoration might help in sequestrating carbon, said David A. Ball, a program manager at Battelle.

In the West, forests are more abundant than wetlands. So the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, or WESTCARB, is researching how growing forests might reduce our carbon footprint. John Kadyszewski, speaking on behalf WESTCARB, opened eyes when he put up a chart indicating that an acre of a 100-year pine-fir forest had the potential to remove 400 tons of CO₂ per acre.

Creating the technology to measure the results of terrestrial carbon sequestration has been another challenge, according to numerous presenters. But it’s a challenge they are working to overcome.

These efforts are highly encouraging, and we look forward to passing on more developments on carbon sequestration this week. Much more from Pittsburgh to come.

Clean Coal Innovators Posted by Joe Lucas on 10/22/2009 01:00:00 PM

National Communications Director Steve Gates recently visited the 2009 Gasification Technologies Conference as part of the America’s Power℠ Factuality Tour. The following is his final dispatch from the event.

It’s been written many times on this blog that we’re confident the continued development and deployment of advanced clean coal technologies will help usher our country into a clean energy future. One reason we’re so confident of that is because we meet people all the time who are working on innovative projects to generate electricity from coal in increasingly clean ways.

Of course, the Factuality Tour has been a great way to get to know a lot of these innovators – especially this stop at the Gasification Technologies Conference in Colorado Springs. It’s literally stuffed full of people thinking outside the box.

One of those people is Don Montgomery of the Nanomaterials Discovery Corporation. Check out our video interview to hear Don explain how we can use coal and fuel cells to generate electricity with no CO2 emissions.

He showed us a unique generation process that involves turning coal into alcohol and then running that alcohol through a fuel cell to create electricity. In addition, the process creates vinegar as a byproduct that can be bought and sold as a commodity.

That’s all well and good, but this technology has an even bigger upside: it generates electricity using coal without producing any CO2.

Wyoming Gov. Freudenthal: America needs to utilize all of its energy resources Posted by Joe Lucas on 10/21/2009 12:12:53 PM

National Communications Director Steve Gates just visited the 2009 Gasification Technologies Conference as part of the America's Power^SM Factuality Tour. We'll be posting his interviews and videos from the event over the next several days.

One of the first speakers at this year’s conference was Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal. If you don’t know how important Wyoming is to producing electricity in the United States, this fact sums it up: the state produces more coal than any other.

If you remember, we visited the Black Thunder Mine in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin during our first stop on the Factuality Tour. While there, we found out the region produces 40 percent of America’s coal – and that Black Thunder provides 8 percent all by itself. Add to that the fact that Wyoming’s mines employ almost 7,000 people and it’s clear how important the energy industry is to the state.

We were fortunate enough to track down Governor Freudenthal and get his thoughts on the energy challenges our planet faces. Watch our video interview with the governor to hear his views on America’s energy future.

Gov. Freudenthal strongly supports a balanced energy approach when it comes to meeting America’s ever increasing energy demands. Now that you know the governor’s opinion, we’d love to hear what you think about the importance of making sure our country is utilizing a balanced energy portfolio.

IGCC 101 Posted by Joe Lucas on 10/16/2009 01:00:00 PM

National Communications Director Steve Gates just visited the 2009 Gasification Technologies Conference as part of the America's Power^SM Factuality Tour. We'll be posting his interviews and videos from the event over the next several days.

A term you hear a lot when it comes to producing electricity from coal these days is IGCC, which stands for Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle. But what exactly is IGCC and how does it work?

According to an MIT report:

The integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) produces electricity from a solid or liquid fuel. First, the fuel is converted to syngas which is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Second, the syngas is converted to electricity in a combined cycle power block consisting of a gas turbine process and a steam turbine process which includes a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG).

It’s a pretty complex process. So we asked Stephen Jenkins, vice president of gasification services for CH2M Hill, to tell us a little more about it – and explain how coal fits into the IGCC picture. Check out our video interview with Stephen to hear him explain how the gasification process works.

Stephen does an excellent job illustrating the importance of IGCC for our very near energy future. Now that you know a little more about this technology, tell us what you think about IGCC.

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.

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.