Published: December 19, 2007 10:04 pm         

Coal-to-liquids technology gets appropriations boost

Separate measures crafted by members of West Virginia’s delegation provide guaranteed loans and extend tax credits to develop coal-to-liquids technology, viewed as a critical component in making American energy independent.

Inserted into the new farm bill by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., was a three-year extension of the alternative fuel tax credit.

Developers must show they are capable of capturing 50 percent of the carbon emissions from a CTL facility in the next two years, and the figure must climb to 75 percent by 2010.

“There is no single alternative fuel source that will address our growing energy needs and lessen our dependence on foreign energy,” Rockefeller said.

“The responsible use of clean coal to meet our electricity and transportation needs must be in the mix. The overwhelming support of the Senate (a 79-14 vote) sends a clear message — coal conversion

is a technology worth investing in.”

As he described it earlier in a meeting with The Register-Herald editorial board, the senator called for a major federal investment paralleling the Manhattan Project to find a workable solution to sequestering carbon.

In the House, Rep. Nick Rahall, also D-W.Va., applauded approval of the omnibus spending bill that included $8 billion in loan guarantees for coal-based power generation and industrial gasification activities employing technologies to capture and isolate carbon emissions.

“The loan guarantee program is intended to help companies leverage investment needed to open new frontiers in coal-based energy research and development, building on advances achieved through the federal clean coal initiative, which I have long supported,” said Rahall, who anchored a special coal-to-liquid seminar last August at Glade Springs Resort.

“Among the future benefits could be new ventures into liquid fuels from coal, which are necessary to ease oil’s stranglehold on our nation.”

A far-reaching measure, the farm bill also entails tax breaks for other alternative research, including ethanol and other biofuels, natural gas and wind power.

— E-mail:

mannix@register-herald.com