fyi, I think we knew this was coming but I am surprised Manchin is talking about 5 CTL plants. paul
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Virginia.Cramer@sierraclub.org Date: Jan 9, 2008 11:43 AM Subject: CTL in WV
Tuesday January 8, 2008 http://www.dailymail.com/News/statenews/200801080203
Manchin to tout coal-to-liquid plants in address
Developers already looking for sites for five proposed facilities by Jake Stump Daily Mail Capitol Reporter
West Virginia's energy independence could bank on the development of five coal-to-liquid plants, which Gov. Joe Manchin hopes the state can accommodate by 2030.
Such an initiative serves as the cornerstone of the governor's new state energy report designed to free West Virginia from reliance on foreign oil imports.
The governor is likely to tout the plan during his annual State of the State speech, which will be Wednesday evening at the state Capitol.
The five plants would ideally produce 20,000 barrels of liquid coal each per day. In the process, state coal production would increase by 15 percent, according to the report.
Developers have already been scouring sites in West Virginia for these fuel plants. Colorado-based Rentech Inc. had pledged to build a $1 billion coal-to-liquid plant in Mingo County by 2012.
"Realizing as a nation how we're facing real energy security challenges, the feeling is that coal is a way to resolve those issues," said Jeff Herholdt, director of the state Division of Energy.
Herholdt said 60 percent of the state's oil products come from imported sources, accounting for 1.4 billion gallons of petroleum product yearly. The development of five coal-to-liquid plants would make up for that amount if they collectively produce 100,000 barrels a day.
The state would likely replace oil with liquid fuel derived from coal, the report reads.
To liquefy coal, it must be fired up to 1,000 degrees and mixed with water. The gas created from that turns into fuel that can be used in cars and jets.
The coal-to-liquid process, however, can be quite costly and intensive. The average price of building a plant is estimated at $4 billion, according to a Washington Post article. The state's report says only half of that, $2 billion, is needed to construct a 20,000-barrel-a-day coal-to-liquid plant.
Each plant would require roughly 4 million tons of coal a year.
On the national scale, experts believe the process would require vast amounts of water and 120 million tons of coal each year just to wean the United States off of 1 million barrel of crude oil a day.
The governor's report, however, states, "While our conventional oil and gas reserves could be materially depleted in decades, our nation's coal reserves are plentiful."
Another factor in reaching the governor's goal depends on the private sector's willingness to start up a project in the state.
Though the state is encouraging development of coal-to-liquid plants, private companies would be largely responsible for funding such projects.
"It's a decision that industry would have to make in making that investment and locating here," Herholdt said.
In December 2006, Rentech Inc. and the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority announced a joint development agreement to build a plant that would employ up to 400 full-time workers.
The plant would convert synthesis gas, a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide produced from coal, into 3 million to 9 million barrels of clean-burning transportation fuel annually.
Construction is expected to take three years. Rentech and the redevelopment authority are cooperating in developing, financing and owning the plant.
Herholdt noted that Vancouver, Wash.-based Baard Energy is another company that could possibly build in West Virginia.
Baard Energy has already announced plans for a $5 billion coal-to-liquids plant in Wellsville, Ohio, near Hancock County. That plant would burn 70 percent coal and 30 percent biomass. The company has stated it would capture and sequester 85 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions underground.
In addition to the vast amounts of water and coal needed for a successful coal-to-liquid plant, a site would also need to be set on flat land, Herholdt said.
There are also environmental concerns to consider, he said.
"The environmental side of the issue has caused the slowing down of these technologies," Herholdt said.
Citing studies from groups such as the Idaho National Laboratory, Herholdt said that rendering coal-to-liquid fuel has about the same environmental impact as producing standard petroleum.
Several critics of this technology remain concerned. They contend that liquid coal fuels generate twice the carbon dioxide of petroleum fuels.
Environmentalists have said Manchin's energy plan would do little to reduce the release of greenhouse gases or to discourage mountaintop removal mining methods.
Last year, coal production in West Virginia was 148 million tons. A 15 percent increase would bring that number to around 170 million tons.
According to the state report, West Virginia ranks 9th per capita in total energy consumption.
Gas consumption is 2.3 million gallons per day; distillate fuel is 1.6 million gallons; liquefied petroleum gas is only 0.2 and jet fuel is .03.
Contact writer Jake Stump at jakest...@dailymail.com or 348-4842.