And in West Virginia, where 9 percent of the state’s work force is employed in the mining industry and tax revenues from coal-related jobs is approximately $290 million, that $1 every month could literally mean the difference for thousands of miners who depend on coal jobs to keep food on their families’ tables.
Local lawmakers understand the importance of coal in America’s future, and Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, are sponsoring a bill — the nonpartisan Carbon Capture and Storage Deployment Act of 2010 — designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
While the bill, commonly referred to as cap and trade legislation, would result in what the senators describe as a minimal cost when compared to what insiders originally were estimating could be a 33 percent increase, both agree that $1 a month is a vital investment in the future of the coal industry.
And West Virginia appears to be leading the way when it comes to alternative options. In fact, the beginning stages of carbon capture and storage are already in place at American Electric Power’s Mountaineer Plant in Mason County, where the results could help secure the future of coal for years to come. ...
Rockefeller said AEP’s project is just one of a handful across the country that are experimenting with the process and new technology. Those participating in the research and development are proving that coal-fired plants can catch between 90 and 100 percent of carbon emissions and trap them miles beneath the earth’s surface.
And that’s where the proposed bill comes in: It will fund CCS research and development $20 billion over the next decade, as well as tax credits that would reward companies who adopt the technology early on once the technology is commercially viable.
It’s certain to have a big impact. At this point, nearly 50 percent of all electricity generated in the nation comes from coal-fired plants. ...
This bill is not only vital to the future of coal mining as a whole, but also to the future of our state. West Virginia can’t afford to lose an industry that puts thousands of people to work every day, and if there’s a cleaner, more efficient way to do the job, it’s an option that must be explored.
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