The region’s coal leaders will gather next month in Kingsport, Tenn., to discuss issues now facing the industry, including clean-coal technology and the latest advances in carbon capture projects.
"Leading by Example: Coal Technologies for an Energy Secure America" is the subject for this year’s Eastern Coal Council’s annual conference.
Barbara Altizer, head of Eastern Coal Council, said Friday the conference, set for May 19-20 at the MeadowView Center in Kingsport, will highlight the nation’s need for energy independence through clean-coal technology. Converting coal to liquids, carbon capture and storage, as well as financial opportunities the new technology can bring, are among the many issues facing the coal industry.
"There is some question as to whether or not our industry is really serious about clean-coal technology," Altizer said.
She said the conference should show that the industry is very serious about embracing clean-coal technology.
"There is lots of research going on, and we’ve got to bring that to the forefront," Altizer said. "We want to let people know that the coal industry is not trying to destroy the environment."
Coal’s critics claim there is no way to burn coal cleanly. Carbon-capture technology is years away, if even possible, critics claim. "Carbon capture and storage will be the major topic of the session," Altizer said.
Scientists are working on ways to capture carbon dioxide emissions before the greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere when coal is burned. Once the gas is captured, it needs to be stored. Some projects – including one in Russell County, Va. – are looking at the possibility of storing the carbon dioxide in coal seams that are not feasible for mining. The coal grabs the carbon and releases methane gas in the process. The methane can then be harvested and sold as fuel.
The Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership will present "The Case for Carbon Sequestration," during the Clean-Coal Technologies Session at the conference.
SECARB will discuss the research goals, objectives and opportunities for business in the carbon and energy environment. The effort is led by Southern States Energy Board, which represents 11 southeastern states, and is one of seven partnerships created by the federal Department of Energy to study the possibility of capturing and storing carbon dioxide.
The moderator of the carbon sequestration topic is Robert Wright, who has more than 40 years of experience in energy technologies and electrical power generation – both fossil fuels and nuclear. His experience includes five years in education, eight years in industry and 32 years in government.
Wright is also the senior program manager in the Office of Sequestration, Hydrogen and Clean Coal Fuels in the U. S. Department of Energy.
kstill@bristolnews.com | (276) 679-1338
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