By KRISTYN ECOCHARD The development of clean coal technology could be a focus of the Department of Energy if the budget presented to Congress Monday is enacted later this year.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman highlighted progress of the Advanced Energy Initiative and the American Competitiveness Initiative as two major goals of the fiscal year 2008 budget. However, of the $24.3 billion requested by the Department of Energy for fiscal year 2008, the Office of Fossil Energy would get $863 million, a higher percentage increase from the 2007 request than the AEI and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Under the proposed budget requests, coal would be appropriated around $330 million, more than any other appropriations given to the Office of Fossil Energy. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, pointed out natural gas and petroleum were left off the appropriations list.
Even though the price of oil and gas are near record highs, we won't be able tap new domestic oil and gas resources without additional research and development, Bingaman said. If the government abandons the field of oil and gas research, where is the new technology going to come from? This is a wrongheaded decision that I hope the Congress reverses.Under the requests, the Clean Coal Power Initiative and FutureGen, both part of the President's Coal Research Initiative, would receive $73 million and $108 million respectively. FutureGen, upon completion, is expected to produce electricity and hydrogen with nearly zero emissions using carbon sequestration. It is also expected to be cost competitive at no more than 10 percent above plants without clean technologies.
The Clean Coal Power Initiative goal of demonstrating advanced coal-fired power generation technology is supported by the budget requests. However, contradictory to other efforts to develop zero-emissions coal production, the Clean Coal Technology program, which is a separate appropriation, was cut back in the request.
The Fuels and Power Systems program would receive the most funding. Under that specific program, technologies such as integrated gasification combined cycle and carbon sequestration would be accelerated as well as the Innovations for Existing Plants program, but there was no specific allotment for coal to liquid technology.
There's also about $9 billion in loan guarantees that Bodman said would be used for the development of commercial new clean energy technologies. The request also includes a $4 billion allocation for large power generation plants, including nuclear and coal-fired power facilities.
According to Energy Information Administration figures, coal provides enough electricity to meet about 50 percent of the U.S. electricity demand. The United States also has the largest coal reserve in the world.
We have been increasing dependence on volatile countries to fulfill our needs so it makes sense to use our own resources but also find new ways to reduce emissions, said Luke Popovich, National Mining Association spokesman. The recent report on climate change from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and several cap-and-trade legislation proposals in Congress have industry officials considering future obstacles for coal production and the need for sustainable, clean technology.
The overall budget indicates positive energy research and focusing on coal is a realistic assessment of the work that has to be done to continue to make coal cleaner because we know we have to continue to use it, Popovich said. Coal is also starting to play a larger role in the fuel sector, Popovich said. Through the loan guarantee-, coal-to-liquids projects could be funded with the $4 billion designated to develop clean transportation fuel, said Susan Carver, vice president of Congressional Affairs for the NMA. The Department of Defense has also taken interest in coal liquefaction, she said, the U.S. Air Force, in particular, is looking to develop a domestic source of combat fuel. The DOD budget, however, did not include a request for allocations for additional research.
Funding for expanding technology has to be a big part of the solution because there's no practical way over the next 20 years to get away from coal use. Given the size of the problem, this might not even be enough funding, Popovich said. (Comments to energy@upi.com)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6
