This news story originally provided by the Intelligencer

7/31/04

Aide: Bush Committed to Coal

By ANDY STAMP

BEALLSVILLE - President Bush is committed to funding clean coal technology and ensuring the future of coal as the nation's primary energy source, according to James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Both officials praised the president for his commitment to the coal industry.  

"I'm here really to start with community," said Connaughton, who advises the president on issues relating to energy and the environment.

President Bush, he said, begins all his policy discussions from the same perspective: "What do our policies mean to the people and communities that we serve?"

According to Connaughton, the president and his advisors decided early on that clean air should be a priority because it produces healthy citizens and healthy communities. "Coal is the backbone of the American economy," he said. "And clean coal is the backbone of a healthier economy."

Maddox praised the president's Clean Coal Power Initiative, which has funded clean coal technology demonstration projects. Connaughton claimed such technologies are predicted to create a $50 billion market for clean coal by giving companies the incentive to use coal versus other energy sources.

This is important, Connaughton said, because there is no greater incentive than money from the private sector. Investment in clean coal technology comes mostly from federal taxpayers, the Department of Energy and a relatively small number of companies. For the most part, he said, venture capitalists and technology companies have been betting against the future of coal. But a $50 billion market will make venture capitalists and technology companies pay attention, he said.

Maddox noted that the president will increase clean coal technology funding from $1.6 billion to $3.7 billion through 2011. According to the John Kerry campaign Web site, the Democratic nominee has pledged to spend $10 billion on clean coal technology.

According to Connaughton, the nation is at a point in time with national and state regulations when there is a fork in the path between "energy and economic development based on coal and energy and economic development without coal."

Connaughton said that while President Bush is committed to having a diverse group of energy sources for the nation, the president also believes coal should remain the dominant one for the foreseeable future.

"Coal is the price anchor, the reliability anchor and the national security anchor," said Connaughton. He claimed that other utilities are in favor of coal's dominant position because of the stability the coal industry provides in the energy market.

Connaughton also claimed the policies of the Clinton administration had been leading the markets away from coal and toward other energy sources such as natural gas. "Now we see the disasters that came from those policies that were implemented," he said, citing price spikes and high energy costs for individuals on fixed incomes.

Also, Connaughton said the nation's manufacturers depend on the cheap energy provided by coal.

The White House aide also defended the president's regulatory policies regarding air pollution. "We need to create a way to work the Clean Air Act to produce jobs and investment in areas where jobs are," said Connaughton. The president, he said, recognizes that ineffective, top-down policies are forcing investment out of urban areas and out of the United States.

"Our policy is structured so there's a fair and level playing field among coal types," said Connaughton, drawing the applause of local miners. "I have great faith in the power of this region to compete on a level economic footing."

Instead of creating a uniform mandate and fighting legal and regulatory battles state-by-state, the president favors a "cap and trade" policy that would encourage companies to work together across entire regions to cut pollution more effectively, said Connaughton.

Instead of labeling counties as delinquent for long periods of time, these policies allow counties to quickly meet the regulations and spend their time working to attract investment and prepare for the future.

Connaughton said the alternative to the president's approach was to follow policies such as the Kyoto Protocol. "If we had implemented that treaty, it would have lost nearly 5 million U.S. manufacturing jobs that depend on energy," he said.

"Those jobs don't disappear. They go to other places," said Connaughton, who praised the president for not signing the treaty.

Connaughton claimed that Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, voted in favor of carbon-capping legislation that would have created a "500,000 job loss," of which 65,000 jobs would be from the coal industry.

Connaughton also alleged that another piece of legislation favored by Kerry and Edwards would hurt the coal industry by ordering carbon capping on powerplants - a regulation for which there is currently no technology, he said. "If you cap carbon, as a utility executive your only choice is to get out of coal."

Both Maddox and Connaughton expressed their belief that the future was looking bright for coal. Maddox said there are several new coal-burning power plants being built. And according to Connaughton, the DOE's Energy Information Administration predicts a 40 percent increase in coal production. In 20 years, he said, the U.S. will demand 40 percent more output from each of its energy sources in order reach its economic growth goals.

Connaughton said clean coal technology has been used to build an almost zero-emissions, coal-burning power plant in Indiana that has the potential to produce hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles.

"It's not enough to wish for this technology to happen," he said. "We need to put some muscle behind it."

Connaughton and Maddox were introduced at the event by Robert E. Murray, president and chief executive officer of Murray Energy Corp., which owns American Energy Corp., Ohio Valley Coal Co. and Maple Creek Mining Inc. Murray described Connaughton as the president's "environment and energy czar."

"I can tell you that James Connaughton is your friend as you stand here today," Murray said. "We need friends who care about you and are as proud that you are working for a Murray Energy Corp. mine as I am."