# Clean Coal energy Isn’t Green. Here’s Why!

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2019/12/clean-coal-energy-isnt-green-heres-why/
- Published: 2019-12-03T22:14:35-05:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

So I was remembering back in 2006, former Governor George Pataki’s budget. It was
going to promote high-tech projects and consumer tax breaks for saving on energy.

In addition, this was meaning tens of millions of dollars in new research funding.
Tax credits and other incentives could flow into Capital Region businesses under
the proposed budget Gov. [George Pataki](https://greenlivingguy.com/2010/06/george-pataki-a-pioneer-in-clean-transportation/)
unveiled Tuesday.  Up to $50 million over five years for advanced “clean coal” [power](https://greenlivingguy.com/2019/03/ultrafine-particles-from-coal-fired-power-plants-are-disrupting-rainfall-patterns-more-than1000km-away-a-new-study-has-found/)
plants could boost research in technology being conducted at General Electric’s 
Global Research Center in Niskayuna.

#### Good luck everyone and may this help green living in our economy.  However, clean coal is not as green as other technologies.

![Coal power plants emissions](https://i0.wp.com/greenlivingguy.com/wp-content/uploads/
2019/12/pexels-photo-459728.jpg?resize=300%2C200&quality=52&ssl=1 "pexels-photo-
459728 - The Green Living Guy")

Source: Albany Times Union

But let’s really look at this. Because then the NYT reported on clean coal saying
even President Trump often talks about “clean coal” in his speeches. Yet it is not
always clear what he means by the term. Consider his comments at a rally in Phoenix.

“We’ve ended the war on beautiful, clean coal,” Mr. Trump said. “And it’s just been
announced that a second brand-new coal mine where they’re going to take out clean
coal — meaning they’re taking out coal, [they’re going to clean it](https://greenlivingguy.com/2015/12/coal-financing-and-the-future-of-sustainable-banking/)—
is opening in the state of Pennsylvania.”

So experts say that carbon capture could proves useful. Especially for tackling 
climate change emissions. I mean not just from coal plants, but from steel and cement
plants as well. Because they also note that companies [have little incentive ](https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/4/12/15269628/carbon-capture-trump)
to install the necessary scrubbers and pipelines. Especially in the absence of stricter
climate regulations or a price on carbon.  These are two policies Mr. Trump has 
fiercely opposed.

In addition, President Trump’s budget for 2018 also proposed [cutting by 85 percent](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/climate/energy-department-climate-trump-budget.html)
funding for the Office of Fossil Energy. That’s the federal agency that is currently
researching techniques to reduce pollution from coal.
 ⌊Clean coal is no such thing⌉

Now according to [InsideEnergy](http://insideenergy.org/2016/10/11/clean-coal-fact-or-fiction/)
on does it work? Well so far, not well. Clean coal technology has not been widely
deployed most importantly at a large scale in the U.S.  Also many clean coal projects
have consequently ended in failure. There are also most noteworthy ongoing debates
about whether the technology actually reduce overall emissions. Because in most 
cases or times they don’t.

That said, there are a handful of projects coming online. Some say that these look
to be technologically successful. Although it will also be financially viable.

So many experts continue to say that ‘clean coal’ is a critical part of fighting
climate change.

#### Therefore, a brief history of some of the most prominent CCUS projects in North America:

 1. **[Boundary Dam Carbon Capture Project](http://saskpowerccs.com/ccs-projects/boundary-dam-carbon-capture-project/)**:
    This coal-fired generating unit in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is one of just two 
    operating power plants in North America that use CCUS. The power plant was also
    rebuilt to incorporate carbon capture technology. It went online in 2014. After
    cost overruns and delays, SaskPower (the company behind the project) says its total
    cost was around $1.467 billion (CAD).  Finally, that the Canadian government contributed
    $240 million (CAD) of that total cost.
 2. **[Kemper County Energy Facility](http://kemperproject.org/kemper-faq/)**:  So 
    this one is coal [gasification](http://kemperproject.org/clean-coal/gasification/)
    combined with carbon capture and storage. It will be used to control emissions 
    at this plant. That which is currently under construction in Mississippi. The project
    has been plagued by cost overruns running into the billions of dollars. It’s currently
    years behind schedule. The New York Times [investigated](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/05/science/kemper-coal-mississippi.html)
    the plant’s many failings in a July 2016 piece.
 3. **Future gen: **This project, set to test advanced CO2 capture and storage technologies
    in Morgan County, Illinois. It was shut down in 2015 after the Department of Energy
    pulled most of its funding. The federal government had committed $1 billion in 
    stimulus dollars in 2010. So with that funding now off the table, an Energy Department
    spokesperson would say only that this action was taken “in order to best protect
    taxpayer interests.”
 4. **[Texas Clean Energy Project](http://www.texascleanenergyproject.com/):** This
    once-promising project has been shelved after the Department of Energy [cut funding](https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12052016/department-energy-moniz-carbon-capture-ccs-climate-change-texas-clean-energy-project)
    for it. The DOE made the final decision to pull the plug on the project in August
    2016. All after it failed to meet various milestones. The plant would gasify coal
    before burning it. Then it would use the captured carbon dioxide for enhanced oil
    recovery. Finally, the total project cost is anticipated at close to $4 billion.

⌊Coal power is bad for breathing⌉⌊Coal power is bad for breathing⌉⌊Coal power⌉⌊Coal
power⌉

#### Yet as Popular Science reported it doesn’t. They add:

But while most of us know the risks of mercury, few of us understand how mercury
wound up in our fish in the first place. The short answer? We put it there. Humans
release mercury into the environment. All through industrial processes, like when
we convert crude oil into vinyl. Or when we mine for gold. But the largest source
of mercury—more than 50 percent—comes from coal fired plants. So continuing to burn
it is just not a great idea.

And even more pollutants are released when we burn coal. That’s without even getting
into the pollution from getting it. I mean the emissions associated with extracting
coal from the ground. As well as disposing of coal ash people!!
 Yet you can thank
coal for the Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) in acid rain, which destroys forests. Nitric Oxide(
NO) and Nitrous Dioxide (NO2), which together are known as NOx and serve as the 
driving force behind smog, stem from coal fires as well

#### Finally they note:

But before the EPA had even finished writing the Clean Power Plan, current [EPA Administrator ](https://www.popsci.com/pruitt-EPA-confirmation)
Scott Pruitt (who was then the Attorney General of Oklahoma) sued to halt its development.
The administrator, who has significant ties to the fossil fuel industry. One that
stands to benefit the most from the Clean Power Plan’s repeal. He argued that the
EPA didn’t have the right to regulate power plant emissions under the clean air 
act after all. The [Supreme Court disagreed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-limits-epas-ability-to-regulate-greenhouse-gas-emissions/2014/06/23/c56fc194-f1b1-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html?utm_term=.85701b2e6af1).

#### Power Plants Start Cutting Your Emissions!

The plan sets targets for states to reduce the amount of carbon released by their
power plants to 32 percent. All below 2005 levels by 2030. However it doesn’t tell
them how to do it. States can choose more interestingly to invest heavily in renewables;
or invest in natural gas. Still, when the EPA introduced its Clean Power Plan, there
are some who saw it as an attack on the coal industry. And well that’s not hard 
to understand: Even though coal only made up 34 percent of electrical energy mix(
a mix that increasingly includes [�)�](https://www.popsci.com/) and solar) as of
2015; it was responsible for 70 percent of power plant emissions. The fastest way
for a state to lower its emissions is to convert its coal powered plants to natural
gas as the article says. Also you can really do large scale wind , solar and with
energy storage.

This is something many municipalities are already doing because [fracking](https://www.popsci.com/fracking-pollution-stays-in-waterways-long-after-fracking-is-done)
natural gas is cheaper than goal. It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t the only
regulation that the Pruitt led EPA has chosen to roll back – they’ve pushed back
against new rules limiting the amount of heavy metals like mercury would end up 
in our waterways.

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 greenlivingguy

 The Green Living Guy, Seth Leitman is an independent power producer, a green living
expert, and Editor of the McGraw-Hill, TAB Green Guru Guides. Seth is also an Author,
Radio Host, Reporter, Writer and an Environmental Consultant on green living. The
Green Living Guy writes about green living, green lighting, the green guru guides
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