Green

Is there a clean coal?

The fight against climate change is heating up again. Leading up to the United Nation General Assembly meeting in late September 2014, the United States is boasting its newest attempt including a clean coal power plant to capture carbon and reduce air emissions. The newest coal-fired facility built in Kemper County is expected to capture carbon by converting coal into gas to power turbines that generate electricity. Resulting carbon dioxide will be turn into a liquid and used in oil extraction using fracking technology that is taking place in the vicinity.

The technology is very costly. The Southern Company which built the plant originally estimated the project cost to be $1.8 billion and actual cost exceeded $5.2 billion. It is a very costly project by any measure. It is also costing more to produce a kilowatt of electricity compared to nuclear and much cheaper natural gas. Who will pay for the increased production cost? It is sure that rate payers from the service area will revolt. The government has many concerns to resolve before using the current project nationwide. In the meantime, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with its proposed emission caps for any future power plants.