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Congressional Coal Caucus Hears About New Technology

 

 

 

November 2, 2023 - “Don’t Deny the Storm – Chart a Course to Calmer Waters and a Prosperous Future” was the title of a presentation on 21st Century Coal made to the Congressional Coal Caucus on October 19, 2023 by Steve Winberg, CEO, Net-Negative CO2 Baseload Power, Inc. and former Assistant Secretary, Office of Fossil Fuel, DOE.

Steve Winberg 

The Congressional Coal Caucus comprises a very influential group of over 70 mostly Republicans and plays a key role in aiding legislative and policy debates relating to the coal industry,” explained Bill Reid, Managing Editor, CoalZoom.com. “It is vital that we preserve and protect coal, one of our greatest natural resources, and that ideas incorporating the very latest technologies be presented to the Caucus. This was such a presentation and the Caucus listened to it with considerable interest.”

Winberg described some of coal’s headwinds including EPA’s proposed Greenhouse Gas Standards and Guidelines for Fossil Fuel -Fired Power Plants. The Administration is aggressively seeking to irreversibly eliminate coal both domestically and internationally. The inflation Reduction Act (IRA) severely tilted the playing field against coal, and the coal fleet is aging.

On the subject of CCS, Winberg said that CCS is technically proven in some applications and currently, there is limited application in power plants, both coal and natural gas. CO2 pipeline transport is a mature technology.

“By 2030, coal will lose two-thirds of 2022 U.S. coal sales. The coal industry needs to protect its market share and technology is the long-term answer,” said Winberg. “There are a number of coal tailwinds and one of them is the House Coal Caucus!” he said.  “Affordable” electricity is getting attention. “Dependable” electricity is getting attention. However, ”Clean” electricity is misunderstoodit is not limited to renewables.  

The Congressional Coal Caucus has a number of priorities including: grid reliability, oversight on EPA’S power plant agenda, future coal use, rail service reliability, policies to promote coal exports, oversight on the DOI federal coal leasing program and supporting pro-coal tax policies. The Caucus co-chairs are: Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Harriett Hageman (R-WY), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Dan Meuser (R-PA), and Carol Miller (R-WV). The first meeting establishing its priorities took place on May 17 this year.

The complete PowerPoint presentation can be seen here.