Clean-Coal Test is a Go in Ohio
By Jack Torry, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
May 7–WASHINGTON — The federal government said yesterday that it will spend $61.1 million for a clean-coal project in Ohio, a major step in deciding whether it is commercially feasible to burn Midwest coal without emitting the carbon dioxide thought to cause global warming.
The money will be funneled to a demonstration project in the Mount Simon Sandstone formation in Darke County in western Ohio.
About 1 million tons of carbon dioxide from an ethanol facility will be injected 3,000 feet into the sandstone formation.
Proponents contend that the process, known as carbon sequestration, is crucial for the future of Ohio coal. If electric utility plants can burn coal without causing global warming, it would provide a major boost to Ohio’s coal industry.
Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, said in a statement that “this award is a vitally important step forward in our nation’s commitment to crafting a comprehensive solution to climate change.”
Many environmentalists acknowledge that carbon sequestration can “play an important role” in reducing greenhouse gases. But they fear that Voinovich and other coal-state senators want to focus solely on coal at the expense of clean-burning technologies such as wind and solar power.
“Carbon capture is a necessary, but by no means sufficient, way to deal with global warming,” said Dan Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal research group in Washington.
“Sen. Voinovich would say it’s sufficient.”
The money for Ohio was part of a $126.6 million award yesterday by the U.S. Department of Energy to demonstrate carbon sequestration in Ohio and California. The government says the country has more than 3 trillion metric tons of storage capacity.
“Tests like these will help provide the confidence and build the infrastructure necessary to commercialize these technologies and will enable the U.S. to continue using its vast resources of coal while protecting the earth for future generations,” Acting Deputy Secretary of Energy Jeffrey Kupfer said in a statement.
Battelle Memorial Institute laboratories in Columbus is heading the demonstration project in Ohio.
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
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