Carbon Capture and Obama

The article titled” Making of a Clean Coal President” analyses the future action likely to be taken by the President.

Three factors have cemented Obama's support for carbon capture and sequestration technology: political necessity, economic opportunity and the backing of some of the most powerful mainstream environmental organizations operating inside the Beltway.

He ordered a high-level task force to deliver a plan within 180 days determining how "to overcome barriers to the widespread, cost-effective deployment of CCS within 10 years, with the goal of bringing 5 to 10 commercial demonstration projects on line by 2016."

In August of this year, he'll be handed a plan for a massive expansion of clean coal from the task force he constituted , and he may be able to use it to help Democrats in November mid-term elections, as well as in the run-up to his own re-election bid in 2012. Sure to be of value is the ongoing $120 million ad campaign from the coal lobby that is coincidentally airing new spots for clean coal .

In his State of Union message, in the paragraph devoted to clean energy innovation, he omitted solar and wind and instead listed nuclear energy, biofuels, clean coal and offshore drilling. It set off howls of protest, which he calmed a few days later by announcing that the federal government would reduce its own emissions 28% by 2020.

Obama's support for CCS has been consistent.

Further, with China already leading the world in the export of solar and wind hardware, CCS offers the prospect of being an exportable big ticket advanced technology that even the Chinese will want to buy.

With Obama's unequivocal support of clean coal, his EPA — thanks to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling on the Clean Air Act — is now the last thing standing in the way of open season for the coal industry to expand without concern for carbon regulation.

More: http://bit.ly/9nHoad

Alstom commends Obama’s CCS Task force

Carbon capture and storage technology developer Alstom has commended the Obama administration for establishing a task force to promote the development of carbon capture and storage in the US.

Alstom, a member of the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), was one of a number of companies that signed on to a full-page advertisement recently calling for Congress to take action on climate legislation as soon as possible.

Pierre Gauthier, Alstom’s US country president said, ‘Carbon capture and storage is an area where the government and the private sector need to work in co-operation. Companies such as Alstom are moving forward to commercialise this key clean technology solution, but our customers need clarity on the legal and regulatory rules that will influence decisions on how and when to apply carbon capture and storage. This task force is ideally suited to address such issues. ..’

As we know Alstom is a global leader in power generation and is in the forefront of developing innovative and environmentally friendly technologies.Gautier’s response to the task force appears to me in keeping with the concerns of the company.

More: http://bit.ly/cIgKms