Published: July 20, 2020 |

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The National Coal Council, a Department of Energy advisory panel, today made the case for policies to extend the life of the fading coal power sector.NCC is made up of leaders in coal power generation, mining and academia. Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry asked the panel last summer to recommend policies to support coal-fired power plants and advancements in technologies like carbon capture, utilization and storage.Janet Gellici, chief executive of NCC, laid out the task at hand on a webcast presentation of the council’s draft report.”The major energy policy challenges involve balancing basically three key objectives: security of energy supply, energy cost containment, and environmental and climate stewardship,” said Gellici, who is the former CEO of the American Coal Council, an advocacy group.

Coal-fired power plants have been closing at a rapid rate. In addition to pressure to reduce fossil fuel emissions, coal faces competition from natural gas, wind and solar energy. About 40 percent of U.S. coal plants operating in 2010 have closed or are scheduled to retire, Gellici said.

The report said carbon capture, while still in the development phase, shows promise for reducing power plant emissions. But federal investment in clean energy has outweighed support for fossil fuels, the report said, referencing U.S. Energy Information Administration figures.

For instance, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp.’s environmental and social policy statement favors renewable energy and has prevented cleaner coal plants from coming online abroad, the report says. It warns against “discriminating against energy sources.”

At the state level, legislatures do not generally include coal generation with carbon capture in clean energy standards.

Coal faces barriers to private financing, too, as investors are increasingly concerned with environmental, social and governance principles (E&E News PM, July 15).

Among the council’s top recommendations is enhancing the 45Q tax credit to boost carbon capture projects, a position echoed by coal-state Republicans (E&E Daily, July 1).

Extending the “under construction” requirement to 2030 and expanding the credit period to 20 years would attract investors, the report says.

The council set three objectives to prevent coal plant closures and meet emissions reductions goals by 2050.

•  By 2030, retrofit a critical mass of coal power plants with carbon capture and efficiency technologies.

•  By 2035, establish a network of carbon dioxide storage sites and pipelines five times the size of today’s.

•  By 2040, develop a range of new coal plant technologies.

Source: E&E News

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