According to today's Coalfield Progress (subscription only), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th) says "it's now virtually certain that within the next three years, Congress will pass a law that will impose mandatory controls on greenhouse gases." The newspaper also reports that Boucher "has announced his intention to author legislation that will both mandate the reduction of greenhouse gases and ensure a viable coal economy for years to come."
Reduce greenhouse gases AND ensure a viable coal economy for years to come? Isn't that contradictory? Here's the Coalfield Progress again:
While some people may consider the two goals mutually exclusive, the congressman said new technology could make coal mining much more environmentally friendly."The goal is to advance the development of carbon dioxide separation and sequestration technology" that keeps electric power plant carbon dioxide emissions out of the atmosphere, he said.
The technology, commonly referred to as "carbon capture," is not currently commercially feasible, but Boucher said he plans to put the strength of the federal government behind research into the process.
"What will happen is we will separate the carbon dioxide during the combustion process and store it in the ground," he said. "This is a way to completely eliminate CO2 emissions from coal-fired electric power plants."
Although many environmentalists advocate a move away from using coal to produce electricity, Boucher said he believes the coal industry is here to stay.
We'll see whether carbon capture and sequestration technology can be developed in a timely, economical, and environmentally positive manner. I have serious doubts. Still, it's great to see Rep. Boucher getting on board with efforts to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. And not a minute too late!
In reality however we don't have 20 years for research, and in the meantime other forms of renewables will continue to advance, and any sort of carbon tax would change the economics in favor of renewables.
The most glaring flaw in this concept is that CCS technology is not likely to be a commercially viable option for at least another decade, and new coal-fired plants are slated to begin construction now. There are also no working models of CCS at a commercial-scale power plant anywhere in the world. Why not? Read on.
Currently, CCS remains a "smoke and mirrors" show, keeping attention away from real solutions. With global warming accelerating, we need to make smart energy choices now. Keeping fossil fuels in the ground is key to stopping climate change.
The heavily marketed story of IGCC is that the technology will make it easier to capture C02 emissions at some undetermined point in the future. However, of the 151 new coal power plants currently under development across the country, only 34 are planning to use IGCC technology,[2] and none of these are being designed to capture their emissions! Proponents say that IGCC plants are "capture-ready," which is a bit like saying your driveway is "Porsche-ready."