New Ad Campaign Distorts the Reality of Clean Coal Technology

Has America‘s policy debate so declined that attack ads are no longer limited to political campaigns?

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ — (Statement by ACCCE Vice President for Communications Joe Lucas regarding a new advertising campaign sponsored by the RealityCoalition.org – a group comprised of the Alliance for Climate Protection, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club)

“I’m surprised that a coalition of environmental special interest groups has placed ads doubting the existence of clean coal technologies.

“For over 40 years, private industry, academia, and the federal government have been working in partnership to bring new technologies to the marketplace that reduces the environmental footprint of using coal to generate electricity. Those who doubt the existence of clean coal technology need only to look at the 70% improvement in the environmental efficiency of America’s coal-based electricity fleet measured by emissions of criteria and hazardous air pollutants regulated by federal and state clean air act laws per unit of energy produced. But this is only part of the story.

“In our America’s Power campaign (americaspower.org) we have consistently talked about the need to invest in advanced clean coal technologies to ensure that we can capture and safely store CO2 emissions at coal-based power plants both here at home and around the world. While this remains a complex and challenging task, anyone who is skeptical about the progress that is being made on this front would only need to visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s website (Clean Power Initiative) at http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/cleancoal/ to get a better appreciation and understanding of the industry’s commitment to this cause.

“We join President-elect Barack Obama in calling for additional funding for advanced clean coal technologies to ensure that we meet the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time enjoying the benefits of relying upon coal, our most abundant domestic energy resource, to meet future energy needs.

“I would have hoped that the environmental special interest groups that are sponsoring this new ad would support such an effort, but they have obviously chosen a different path.”

About ACCCE

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is a non-profit, non-partisan partnership of companies involved in producing electricity from coal. Because coal is America’s most abundant energy resource, ACCCE supports energy policies that balance coal’s vital role in meeting our country’s growing need for affordable and reliable electricity with the need to protect the environment. ACCCE also advocates for the development and deployment of advanced clean coal technologies that will produce electricity with near-zero emissions. Headquartered in Alexandria, VA. For more information, visit www.cleancoalusa.org or www.americaspower.org

SOURCE American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity