Coal gasification: opportunities and challenges: hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Tenth ... associated with coal gasification, incl

LC Number: KF26 .E55 2007v OCLC Number: (OCoLC)173317975 Subject: Coal gasification -- United States. Excerpt: ... than 50% of our nation's electricity needs, and America has enough coal to last more than 200 years. Unfortunately, CO2 pollution from coal combustion is a main cause of global warming, which threatens my state's water resources, our economy, and our quality of life. Fortunately, there seems to be more than one way to reconcile coal use with protecting our climate, through new low-carbon technologies such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), oxy-coal combustion, coal gasification and ultra-supercritical generation. In addition, advancements in capturing carbon and safely sequestering it underground will allow our country to use coal, and at the same time reduce CO2 emissions. I am proud of the work this Committee did in the Energy Savings Act of 2007 to promote research, development and deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technologies, and to do an assessment of our nation's carbon storage capacity. What we learn from the national assessment may be valuable in determining optimal locations to place coal- to-liquid plants in order for them to be near areas where the CO2 emissions can be safely sequestered. Advances in technology indicate that a coal-to-liquid plant using combined cycle technology, carbon capture and storage, and biomass as part of the fuel source can result in far lower greenhouse gas emissions. It is my understanding that some coal-to-liquid processes can use up to 30% biomass in the feedstock, which reduces the CO2 emissions from the process. The use of a renewable fuel like biomass in these plants presents a great opportunity to allow for an expanded use of coal without adding to global warming. Thank you Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Domenici for holding today's hearing ...