More About Clean Coal (not!) and Its Deception
November 30th, 2007Due to a serious health challenge, I haven’t been up to posting for awhile, but now that I am in effect beating my “beast,” it is so nice to find my opinion validated by none other than the prestigious Center for American Progress. Imagine my delight to see John Podesta’s site exposing and debunking the false front “Americans for Balanced Energy Choice” (ABEC), echoing the same conclusions I had reached last year.
At the time Joe Lucas, President of ABEC took issue with my surmisal and tried to argue ”well-meaning people can look at the same exact set of facts and circumstances and still come to differing conclusions,” and that ”We all want a secure energy future and a cleaner environment. ”
Hey Joe, why don’t you try that on John Podesta’s site, where I’m sure a lot more people will be able to read (and dissect) it.
Go ahead, I dare ya.
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Sorry to hear about your health. There’s no need to start a fight here. We all want the same thing: cheap, reliable electricity that is as clean as possible.
But the fact remains, there has never been an environmental challenge facing the coal-based electricity sector for which technology didn’t provide the ultimate solution – and those who are familiar with the advancements in carbon capture technology recognize that meeting the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector is not likely to be the exception to that rule.
That is why America’s coal-based electricity providers are working with Department of Energy on a $1.5 billion project to build a coal plant that captures close to 100% of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury. The “FutureGen” plant will capture carbon dioxide for permanent storage before it is released into the atmosphere. The plant will bury its heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions deep underground in a saltwater aquifer.
-David with ABEC
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Thanks for your input, but I beg to differ. To my mind, the fact remains an ultimate solution would be one with no downsides or unforseen consequences. So far, I haven’t seen that with regards to coal energy.
Capturing sulfur and nitrogen oxide and mercury to be released at a later date, is no solution unless their impact on the environment can be neutralized. Burying CO2 makes as much sense as buring nuclear waste — you eventually run out of room.
It would make more sense to “step away from the coal bins” and continue developing other clean energies, especially fuel-cell.
The only visible immediate benefit of the $1.5 billion (tax dollars) carbon sequestration project to which you refer is the profit companies involved will reap.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Renewable energy is great, but in most cases it is not not a suitable replacement for coal. For example, wind and solar can produce electricity only when the weather conditions permit.
Coal is different. Coal can be used to generate electricity 24/7, regardless of whether there is enough wind or the sun is shining.
As for hydrogen fuel-cells, it takes a *lot* of energy to extract hydrogen (that is, to separate it from whatever it is attached to, say H20 or coal or natural gas). So you end up using quite a bit of electricity (half of which is generated from coal in this country!) just to get the hydrogen.
And besides, we’re talking primarily about electricity, not transportation fuels.
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Wind is a highly effective replacement for coal-generated electricity. There are currently more than 16,000 wind turbines in California with a total generating capacity approaching 1700 MW. These turbines generate more than 3 billion kWh of electricity per year-enough electricity to meet the residential requirements of a city of about 1 million people. This combined capacity is equivalent to a medium-sized nuclear plant without the waste. Can coal beat that?
As to hydrogen fuel-cells, the differs with your description of how much energy it takes to produce electricity using fuel cells. Anyone interested in a basic explanation can check out
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/fuelcell_animation.html.
You might view fuel cells only in terms of transportation, but technology is already in place to produce electricity as well as power vehicles. Anyone interested in seeing what’s available should go to one of several sites, www.fuelcellstore.com.