Clean-coal Power

OK, so this post is completely "off-topic" for what I usually write about. So sue me. Some things just fascinate me, and some puzzle me. When we do things stupidly as a society, I am often puzzled. A lot of things about our energy policy are stupid.

Whatever the debate about global warming means, there are few things that are without a doubt.

The first is, we burn a lot of coal. The US has very large amounts of coal reserves, and coal is relatively cheap. (And given the price of oil, probably looks better every day.)

The second is that burning coal the old-fashioned way has its problems. Mercury, sulfur dioxide are but 2 of the substances that end up in the air. Mercury, a fairly bad neurotoxin, is a real problem. Sulfur dioxide gives us acid rain.

The good news is that people are finally starting to take notice that you can burn coal and avoid these problems. With coal gasification, you remove the mercury and the sulfur easily before you burn the coal, you get about 10% more energy out of the coal and you can even capture the CO₂ and sequester it underground before it hits the air, though people aren't doing that - yet.

The bad news is that the initial investment is more (about 20% more) than a traditional coal-fired power plant would cost. Given all of the the advantages, I would think a few tax credits or other incentives would make these take off.

And they are beginning to take off.

The latest headline to catch my eye is GE Energy plans $1 bln power plant in Poland | Reuters.com. Poland, like the US, has a very large coal reserve. Couple that with the EU's take on global warming and getting better use of coal is a good thing. 900 megawatts is not a small-scale plant, but then the research on Integrated gasification and combined cycle technology (IGCC) plants was done in the 1990s.

This anouncement comes just after one plant has been announced:
Construction and Maintenance :: GE Energy and Bechtel to build 630-MW plant in West Virginia. And another plant is next-door to being started. The Enquirer - Indiana clean-coal power plant closer. Both of these are 630 megawatt plants. Both have the potential of using CO₂ holding, though that isn't planned at this time.

Even the environmentalists recognize that this is a good technology, given that we aren't going to stop generating electricity any time soon. The Brooklyn Rail - Environment: Coal Junkies calls coal gasification the smart alternative to burning coal the old-fashioned way.

We need to generate more electricity, and we need to keep reducing air pollution. We need to be smart about things.