Published: October 20, 2020 |

U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.
[Click image to enlarge]

For more than 100 years, the coal mined in Southwest Virginia has powered homes and business and provided jobs and economic benefits to communities from Lee and Wise County to Russel and Tazewell. In recent years, the industry associated with this abundant resource has been challenged as the demand for coal by the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants has declined. However, a strong future remains for Southwest Virginia coal.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) recent report, The Appalachian Energy and Petrochemical Renaissance, highlights these emerging market opportunities for coal and how DOE research and innovation, conducted in partnership with industry, will help create new economic opportunities for coal mining and utilization. That research is primarily driven by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in nearby Morgantown, WV and Pittsburgh, PA. There are three major areas where DOE is investing to help secure a place for Appalachian coal in America’s energy future.

The first is DOE’s Coal FIRST (Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small, and Transformative) Initiative, which is aimed at advancing the next generation of coal-fueled power plants to provide secure, stable, and reliable electricity. DOE-led research and development will enable coal power plants of the future to produce zero, or even net-negative, carbon emissions, while operating more reliably and enabling quick and flexible delivery of electricity during extreme weather events when intermittent sources of electricity are not available.

In addition to domestic benefits, each of these technologies offers the chance for the United States to export our energy expertise around the world. This energy trade will help our friends and partners reduce their reliance on our adversaries, while simultaneously providing energy diversity and fostering prosperity for their citizens.

Residents of Southwestern Virginia know better than most that fossil energy sources have experienced their share of booms and busts. But innovations, like those in development at DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, can reinvigorate the coal industry and advance new, creative uses for coal that will bring jobs and economic growth to the Appalachian region.

Source: The Roanoke Times

Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!