By now, you’ve probably seen our Clean Coal Technology map on the America’s PowerSM Web site. From the map, we know that there’s more than $12 billion in clean coal research in 43 states, even some not normally associated with coal production.
Those are some pretty impressive numbers. I’ve come up with a list of other interesting figures to illustrate the commitment that government and energy organizations are putting into the commercial deployment of clean coal technology.
Take a look:
• There are officially four clean coal projects listed in President Obama’s Clean Coal Power Initiative.
• Obama’s administration is pushing to have “five to 10” commercial clean coal power plants operating as demonstration projects by 2016.
• The U.S. Department of Energy manages more than 300 active research and development projects spanning a wide range of fossil fuels, including coal.
• Of those projects, 70 are focused on carbon sequestration technology.
• According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s latest database, there are 46 active carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects across the globe, including countries like China, the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
• Fifteen of the projects mentioned above are located in the U.S.
• More than 60 organizations and institutions have partnered with the World Resources Institute to develop safe practices for CCS, including Harvard University, Southern Company and the Argonne National Laboratory.
These numbers show that people understand coal’s value as an abundant, affordable fuel source. They also demonstrate the extent to which they’re investing in clean coal research and are working to deploy carbon capture and sequestration. For even more figures, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s fossil fuel database.

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.