Comment...

It's not clear where coal fits into the big energy picture. On one hand, its emissions kill thousands of people annually.. On the other hand, we have plenty of coal and the coal industry – which generates 50% of America's electricity – says they can make coal 'clean'.

Coal is dirty and nasty. It messes up the environment when it's strip-mined and messes up the globe when it's burned.

• Coal, primarily electricity generation, contributes 40% of America's annual CO2 emissions (33% transport; 17% industrial; 6% residential; 4% commercial).
• Coal-burning power plants in the United States produce two billion tons of CO2 per year.
• Coal power plants are the single largest source of some of the worst air pollutants, including deadly particulate matter, acid-rain-forming sulfur dioxide, and toxic mercury.
• Some 24,000 Americans die prematurely from the effects of soot from coal-fired power plants (Abt Associates, Power Plant Emissions: Particulate Matter-Related Health Damages).
• Population exposure to radiation from coal-burning power plants is over a hundred times higher than from nuclear power plants.

With the exception of still-unproven underground coal gasification, 'clean coal' looks like a Rube Goldberg contraption. It has so many moving parts that I expect it will nickel-and-dime us to death. Coal will no longer remain the cheap energy alternative, yet coal mining will continue to damage and pollute the earth.

The coal industry has been deliberately slow in developing clean coal technology. Their delaying tactics raise the question of whether clean coal is even feasible. The USA and the world should beging replacing coal generating plants with less polluting natural gas and carbon-free nuclear power.

                                                — Robert Moen
                                                    rmoen@energyplanUSA.com

CO2 phase-out from coal could check global warming
NASA 2008
The burning of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – has accounted for about 80 percent of the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide since the pre-industrial era. Now, NASA researchers have identified feasible emission scenarios that could keep carbon dioxide below levels that some scientists have called dangerous for climate. The research shows that the rise in carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels can be kept below harmful levels as long as emissions from coal are phased out globally within the next few decades.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that concerns climate scientists because it can remain in the atmosphere for many centuries and studies have indicated that humans have already caused those levels to rise for decades by burning fossils fuels. Previously published research shows that a dangerous level of global warming will occur if carbon dioxide in the atmosphere exceeds a concentration of about 450 parts per million. That's only 17 percent more than the current level of 385 parts per million. "Even if we assume high-end estimates and unconstrained emissions from conventional oil and gas, we find that these fuels alone are not abundant enough to take carbon dioxide above 450 parts per million," said NASA researcher Pushker Kharecha. "The most important mitigation strategy we recommend – a phase-out of carbon dioxide emissions from coal within the next few decades – is feasible using current or near-term technologies."

EPA ruling over climate jeopardizes coal plants
Reuters 2008
U.S. environment regulators rejected a permit for a new coal-fired power plant in Utah over the issue of its greenhouse gas pollution. Lawyers for an environmental group that had sought the review of the regional permit said the decision puts into question the fate of dozens of planned coal-fired power plants. In a landmark ruling in 2007, the Supreme Court found that carbon dioxide can be regulated as a pollutant under the U.S. Clean Air Act.

Coal plants generate about half of U.S. power. But they emit about a third of the country's carbon dioxide pollution, about the same amount as vehicles spew. About 25 coal plants are under construction across the United States, more than in the past two decades. Another 20 projects have been permitted or are near construction and more than 60 have been announced or are in the early stages of development. None of the commercial-scale plants plan to include equipment to capture and sock away carbon emissions underground. The coal industry says the equipment is unproven and too expensive to invest in without certainty over when and how greenhouse emissions would be regulated.

Coal plans go up in smoke
Guardian UK 2008
Four years ago, campaigners in the US raised concerns over plans to build 150 coal-fired power stations nationwide. Today, nearly half those plans have been defeated in the courts or abandoned, while half of the remaining proposals are being actively opposed. Just 14 of the 150 plants are being developed, and environmental lawyers are all still pursuing them.

Coal power returned to the US political agenda when vice-president Dick Cheney's 2001 energy policy lifted key pollution restrictions. It took two years for environmental groups to see what emerged: state by state, project by project, a total of 150 new plants were put forward, almost all of them not to replace old coal but to augment it. Together, the plants would have emitted an estimated1bn tonnes of CO2 annually - more than the total emissions cuts by countries that have signed the Kyoto protocol. That realisation mobilised an incredible national campaign, led by a few national groups including the Sierra Club, the Union of Concerned Scientists and others, but driven by state and local membership of these and many more organisations and employing a wide array of tactics.

Getting power from coal without digging it up
Technology Review 2009
Converting coal in the ground directly into clean-burning gases could have huge environmental benefits--not the least of which would be the avoidance of destructive mining operations. The problem is, technology for underground coal gasification is still in its early stages.

Oxygen is driven down the feed well and the coal seam is ignited, driving the temperature to 800 to 900 ºC and the pressure to almost 2,000 PSI. Under those pressures, the oxygen, coal, and saline water (present in the coal and also injected via the feed well) react to form a gas that is roughly one-third methane and two-thirds hydrogen, along with some carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The gas is drawn to the surface via the adjacent production well, where the carbon monoxide is converted to hydrogen and CO2, and all of the CO2 is removed.

China to increase coal production 30%
Todayonline.com 2009
China is aiming to increase its coal production by about 30 percent by 2015 to meet its energy needs, the government has announced, in a move likely to fuel concerns over global warming.

Coal to remain top power source
Routers 2008
Coal, which produces more climate-warming carbon dioxide than oil or gas, will remain the world's main source of power until 2030 and nuclear will lose market share, said the International Energy Agency. The share of coal generated power would rise to 44 percent by 2015 from 41 percent in 2006. It would stay at that level to 2030, the Paris-based agency said in its World Energy Outlook. The report from the IEA, adviser to 28 industrialized nations, says most of the growth was expected in non-OECD countries, such as China. Its demand for power doubled between 2000 and 2006.

The IEA urged stronger policies for carbon capture and storage (CCS), saying the world was likely to make only a minor contribution in the period. Despite a global nuclear renaissance, the IEA expected nuclear's share in power generation to drop to 10 percent by 2030 from 15 percent in 2006. As of the end of August, China topped the list of countries with nuclear power plants under construction, with 5,220 megawatts (MW), followed by India at 2,910 MW and Korea at 2,880 MW. The IEA predicted the share of renewable energy to rise to 23 percent by 2030 from 18 percent in 2006. The agency said high prices would constrain growth in gas-fired generation, although it remained attractive due to lower capital costs and shorter construction time. Its market share was likely to fall slightly from 20 percent.

The dirty secret behind America's energy future
Book: Big Coal by Jeff Goodell
Long dismissed as a relic of a bygone era, coal is back – with a vengeance. Coal is one of the nations biggest and most influential industries – big coal provides more than half the electricity consumed by Americans today – and its dominance is growing, driven by rising oil prices and calls for energy independence. Is coal the solution to American's energy problems?

On close examination, the glowing promise of coal quickly turns to ash. Coal mining remains a deadly and environmentally destructive industry. Nearly forty percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year come from coal-fired power plants. In the past two decades, air pollution from coal plants has shortened the lives of more than half a million Americans. In this eye-opening book, Goodell reveals the costs and consequences of America's addiction to coal and explains how we can kick the habit.

Doubts raised over promise of liquid coal
Wall Street Journal 2008
Encouraging greater production of transportation fuel made from liquefied coal and Canadian oil sands could help reduce oil prices but also undermine U.S. efforts to fight global warming, according to a report by the Rand Corp. The study's authors note that carbon-dioxide emissions from the production and use of oil sands are roughly 20% higher than conventional petroleum, and that emissions from the production and use of liquid fuel from coal are about twice the emissions of conventional fuels.

Clean coal for cars has a dirty Side
Science News 2008
If the United States tried to achieve independence from foreign oil by making gasoline from vast reserves of domestic coal, the country would probably end up increasing its carbon emissions, a new study concludes. Researchers found that in realistic scenarios, the mass production of fuel from coal or natural gas would lead to the emission of more climate-changing greenhouse gases than the current oil-based economy.

U.S. foresees a thinner cushion of coal
Wall Street Journal 2009
Coal provides nearly one-quarter of the total energy consumed in the U.S. A belief in this nearly boundless supply has led officials to dub the U.S. the "Saudi Arabia of Coal." But the estimate, recent findings show, may be wildly overconfident.

Last year, the U.S. Geological Survey completed an extensive analysis of Wyoming's Gillette coal field, the nation's largest and most productive, and determined that less than 6% of the coal in its biggest beds could be mined profitably, even at prices higher than today's. No one says the U.S. is facing a coal shortage. But the emerging ranks of "peak coal" theorists argue that current production levels may be unsustainable and, if anything, create a false sense of security.

Coal facts
Pew Center
• Coal is inherently higher-polluting and more carbon-intensive than other energy alternatives.
• Rising energy demand will continue to drive coal consumption in countries with large reserves such as the United States, China and India.
• Coal is chearp and prices are relatively stable. It provides usable energy at a cost of between $1 and $2 per MMBtu compared to $6 to $12 per MMBtu for oil and natural gas, and coal.
• Coal is so inexpensive that one can spend quite a bit on pollution control and still maintain coal’s competitive position.
• 50% of the electricity generated in the United States is from coal.
• One-third U.S. coal-fired plants date from 1970 or earlier, and most of the rest from 1970-1989. Only 12 coal-fired plants have been built in the United States since 1990. There are an estimated 130 new coal-fired plants on the drawing boards
• U.S. coal reserves could last well over 250 years.
• The United States produces close to 2 billion tons of CO2 per year from coal-burning power plants.
• China adds the equivalent of almost 2 large coal power plants a week, an annual increase of about 5% to the world CO2 total.

Energy secretary scraps FutureGen clean coal project
Environmental News Service 2008
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman sent America's clean coal program back to square one when he tossed out the FutureGen low emissions coal gasification plant in Illinois that the Bush administration has supported for the past five years.

Bodman said he now favors "a restructured approach that aims to demonstrate cutting-edge carbon capture and storage, CCS, technology at multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, IGCC, clean coal power plants. "This approach is expected to at least double the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered compared to FutureGen."

Clean coal might power the future
Live Science 2008
Coal can, at least in theory, be burned with little or no carbon footprint, but it requires something called carbon capture and storage (CCS), in which CO2 is separated from the coal (either before or after burning) and buried underground. The trouble is that CCS has never been tried on a commercial scale.

Sometimes called the dirtiest fuel, coal burning releases particulate matter associated with respiratory problems, sulfur dioxide (SO2) tied to acid rain and nitrogen oxides that contribute to smog. In the United States and other countries, new power plants are required to implement pollution-reduction technologies. In some plants, for instance, the coal is pre-washed to remove impurities, and the smokestacks are equipped with "scrubbers" that filter out SO2 and particulate matter from the flue gas.

Coal emits more CO2 than any other common fuel: 80 percent more than natural gas and 35 percent more than gasoline, for a given energy output. Although estimates vary, the amount of coal still underground equals roughly 250 years at current consumption rates.

Indiana coal-to-gas project bucks industry trend
Chicago Tribune 2008
In the heart of Indiana's coal country, Duke Energy Corp. is building a 630-megawatt – the nation's largest – coal-gasification plant.

Duke's plant along the White River will convert coal into a synthesis gas that's processed to remove pollutants such as mercury and sulfur dioxide. The gas will then be burned in turbines to produce electricity, while heat from that process is tapped to create steam that generates power in separate steam turbines. The plant's cost originally was estimated at $1.6 billion. Last spring, Duke Energy raised that estimate to about $2.35 billion.

Duke Energy wants to study ways to equip the plant to "capture" some of the 4 million tons of carbon dioxide it would release annually. Such a step would help the plant comply with any greenhouse gas caps Congress might impose, but also boost its cost.