BIG STIMULUS $$$ TO COAL

Coal wins big in Senate stimulus package
Ken Ward Jr., January 28, 2009 (The Charleston Gazette)

"Coal supporters have managed to tuck more than $4.6 billion in money for the industry into a Senate version of the economic stimulus package…with several coal projects pushed by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va…The Senate funding is nearly double the $2.6 billion included in a current House version of the legislation, meant to help boost the sagging economy across the country.

"Details… outlined in a Byrd news release…$2 billion for "near-zero emissions" power plants designed to capture and sequester carbon dioxide…$1 billion for the Department of Energy's Clean Coal Power Initiative…$1.6 billion for carbon capture at industrial plants…"

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"Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has also been working behind the scenes to get as much money as possible into the stimulus package for what supporters call "clean coal" programs.

"Last year, Rockefeller managed to get $2.8 billion for the coal industry into the massive Wall Street bailout…aimed at encouraging power producers to limit greenhouse gas emissions…[and] to promote turning coal into liquid fuel, a move that could double greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle fuels.

"During his campaign, President Barack Obama promised to invest $150 billion over 10 years on a variety of energy programs, and to launch public/private partnerships to build five commercial-scale coal-fired power plants that capture carbon dioxide emissions…environmental groups are concerned that Congress will not put tight enough restrictions on "clean coal" projects - requirements that they actually limit their greenhouse gas emissions and do so now, rather than much later. Also, some citizen groups, especially those opposing mountaintop removal in Appalachia, argue there is no such thing as 'clean coal'…"