Alert on TGMP: What does Obama say about the future of coal?
President Obama said, "Clean coal technology is something that can make America energy independent. This is America. We figured out how to put a man on the moon in 10 years. You can't tell me we can't figure out how to burn coal that we find RIGHT HEAR in the United States of America and make it work."
What the President should have said is that "it is working!" Clean coal is a reality.
What the green energy crowd doesn't talk about much is the fact that, nowadays, thanks to major technological advances, about 99 percent of the chemicals that can pollute the air and more than 95 percent of the chemicals that can cause acid rain never make it into the atmosphere.
Devices called flue gas desulfurization systems, or "scrubbers," remove more than 90 percent of the sulfur dioxide emissions from the burning process. The flue gas is sprayed with a mixture of water and lime or limestone, which reacts with the sulfur dioxide to form a wet sludge or, in some cases, a dry powder that can be disposed of or made into pellets for roadbeds or into plasterboard or concrete blocks.
Another method for tackling air pollution involves using devices called electrostatic precipitators, which give coal dust particles an electric charge so they can be attracted to a collector plate.
Still another method of removing pollutants involves a process called fluidized bed combustion (FBC), in which coal is inserted into a bed of particles (including limestone) that are suspended in the air and react with the coal to heat the boiler more cleanly.
Coal gasification converts coal into a gas that has the same heating value as natural gas. Coal gas burns cleaner than coal because so many pollutants have been removed during the transformation to a gas. This method can remove up to 99.9 percent of the sulfur and tiny dirt particles from burning coal.
Coal into gasoline is based on a process developed by Germany during WWII when it was isolated from its oil supplies. Now that technology is making a comeback and pilot programs are under way in the U.S. . According to industry reports, the Energy Information Administration is projecting coal liquefaction to be up and running in as little as two years. In fact, the U.S. Air Force has made it a goal that half its fleet will be flying on coal-based jet fuel by 2015.
Obama's DOE pledges $612 million to prove "clean coal" carbon capture and storage technology
With coal certain to remain one of the nation's lowest-cost electric power sources for the foreseeable future, the United States has pledged a new commitment to even more advanced clean coal technologies.
"Clean coal" refers to another new technology called carbon capture and storage (CCS) in which carbon dioxide from burning coal is collected, transported and stored in a secure location, typically deep under the ground. Just weeks ago, Obama's DOE announced it would put up $612 million to fund project Future Gen, to demonstrate the efficiency of large-scale CCS.
Okay. . . hopefully I've convinced you that coal is still king and that beyond the clatter and gloom of the environmentalists is a maligned and ignored energy sector that has a long and profitable future.
But why is American Power TGMP such an extraordinary standout in a field of rock-solid coal companies?
Well, for starters, as I said at the start, the bottom line is that this still-undiscovered, coal company, American Power owns coal leases worth an estimated. . . $35.04 billion!
