What's new in CTL technology
This is a list of some of the most recent articles dealing with coal-to-liquid technologies.
Be sure to visit our Capitol Hill Updates page for a full listing of remarks by industry experts before congress.
- Could Coal Be Key To Gasoline Woes?
June 23, 2008
KDKA
Part of the coal conference in Pittsburgh this week is focusing on how coal could solve the country's gasoline crisis.
read entire article here - Coal may hold solution to gas prices
June 23, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Later this year, a plant in China will begin churning out liquid fuel made from coal, a technology that -- if all breaks right for the coal industry -- is headed to American shores.
read entire article here - India Government To Allocate Coal Mines For Coal-To-Liquid Plants
June 11, 2008
Dow Jones Newswire
NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- India has decided to open up its vast coal reserves for use by coal-to-liquids plants, despite sharply higher carbon dioxide emissions and high demands on local water supplies, in a bid to cut the huge bills that come with the country's dependence on imported crude oil.
read entire article here - The Air Force Works To Recruit Alternative Fuel Sources
June 9, 2008
Nightly Business Report
Like commercial airlines, the U.S. Air Force is also facing soaring fuel costs. While efficiency efforts have helped cut consumption, the Air Force still spent nearly $6 billion on fuel last year, triple the amount spent just three years ago. As Stephanie Dhue reports, soaring fuel prices are driving the Air Force to look for alternatives.
read entire article here - Capito bill would set coal-to-liquid fuel mandate
May 27, 2008
Herald-Leader
CHARLESTON, W.Va. --U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito wants Congress to mandate domestic production of 6 billion gallons of liquid fuel from coal annually by 2022.
read entire article here - U.S. Military Launches Alternative-Fuel Push
May 21, 2008
Wall Street Journal
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. -- With fuel prices soaring, the U.S. military, the country's largest single consumer of oil, is turning into an alternative-fuels pioneer.
read entire article here - CNN Spotlights CTL Fuels
May 13 & 14, 2008
CNN
Part 1 — CNN's Ali Velshi explains the push to find easy way to turn coal into liquid fuel.
Part 2 — Gasoline for $1.50 a gallon? That's what one inventor says he can make from coal. CNN's Deb Feyerick reports. - Sasol says its synthetic fuel approved for jet use
April 9, 2008
Reuters
JOHANNESBURG, April 9 (Reuters) - South Africa's Sasol (SOLJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest maker of fuel from coal, said on Wednesday its synthetic jet fuel has been approved for use in commercial airliners.
read entire article here - Air Force leads push to liquefied coal fuel
March 30, 2008
Seattle Times
WASHINGTON — Squeezed by the soaring cost of oil-based jet fuel, the Air Force is converting its gas-guzzling fleet of aircraft to synthetic fuels and encouraging the creation of a liquefied coal industry that could tap the nation's vast coal reserves.
read entire article here - Air Force to Wall Street: Invest in coal conversion
March 22, 2008
USA Today
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. — On a wind-swept air base near the Missouri River, the Air Force has launched an ambitious plan to wean itself from foreign oil by turning to a new and unlikely source: coal.
read entire article here - Schweitzer touts coal-to-liquid plant
February 1, 2008
Great Falls Tribune
Presidential candidates are debating when the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq, but the nation is so dependent on Middle East oil, Gov. Bryan Schweitzer said Thursday, "that our troops won't leave the region until we develop a good supply of domestic fuel."
read entire article here - Public invited to Air Force meeting
January 28, 2008
Great Falls Tribune
Top Air Force officials are expected to provide more details of a coal-to-liquid-fuels plant proposed for Malmstrom Air Force Base and take public comments at a town meeting scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Civic Center's Missouri Room.
read entire article here - Asia Looks to Coal As Oil Price Surges
January 4, 2008
Wall Street Journal
BEIJING -- Vast coal reserves in Asia are gaining attention as major energy consumers such as China and India grapple with the reality of oil prices around $100 a barrel and the risks they pose to their economies.
read entire article here (subscription required) - U.S. Senate Endorses Rockefeller Proposal for Coal-to-Liquid Development
December 18, 2007
HuntingtonNews
Washington, DC (HNN) – Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) announced Monday, Dec. 17 that the U.S. Senate has endorsed a proposal to keep the development of coal-to-liquids (CTL) technology advancing in the right direction. The measure was included as part of the 2007 Farm Bill that passed the Senate late Friday night by a vote of 79-14.
read entire article here - Sasol's Liquid Fuel Creates Solid Profits
December 2, 2007
The Charleston Gazette
Gov. Joe Manchin wants to build a series of liquid coal plants across West Virginia, despite citizen concerns about the effects of increased strip mining and the ramifications for global climate change.
read entire article here - Sasol's Liquid Fuel Creates Solid Profits
November 19, 2007
Barron's
WITH $30 BILLION IN MARKET value, Sasol is puny compared to energy giants like ExxonMobil. But the South African company, which specializes in turning gas and coal into liquid fuel, has been one of the brightest stars in the oil sector since it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2003. Its American depositary receipts (ticker: SSL) have soared about 400%, to a recent 50.28, leaving Exxon's shares ( XOM) and those of many other oil producers in the proverbial dust.
read entire article here - Phillip Gonet: U.S. needs to invest -- now -- in coal-to-liquid fuels
November 12, 2007
The State Journal-Register
Americans almost universally agree that our energy policy is flawed and needs fixing.
read entire article here - Coal conversion dilemma for US
November 6, 2007
BBC News
The US is the world's greatest per capita emitter of carbon dioxide with each US citizen responsible for 20 tonnes of gas annually - the world average is less than four.
read entire article here - In case of oil supply disruption, coal offers abundant alternative
November 6, 2007
The Patriot News
With the price of crude oil flirting with $100 a barrel and gasoline hitting $3 at the pump, it is clear evidence of the nation's vulnerability that the only thing that can ameliorate these high prices in the short-term is for the OPEC countries to boost production. And remember that OPEC is composed of some of our not-so-dearest-and-closest friends, such as Iran, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
read entire article here - The farm bill grows a crop of lobbyists
November 6, 2007
The Hill
The farm bill is not just for farmers anymore. Union officials, immigration advocates and energy lobbyists are all eyeing the $280 billion agriculture bill, which the Senate began debating Monday. As perhaps the last major policy bill moving this year, groups with little interest in cattle or crops may end up playing a role in what Congress makes of the nation’s farm policy.
read entire article here - Being wary of 'outside voices'
October 31, 2007
ReviewOnline.com
Work is progressing to bring BAARD Energy's Ohio River Clean Fuels Project to Wellsville — and all area residents can help that project along.
read entire article here - Use domestic resources to ease dependence on foreign oil
October 18, 2007
The Patriot News
Nobody argues that the United States is far too dependent on foreign oil. But what to do about it generates a hugely contentious debate.
read entire article here - Rentech seeks to develop plant at Natchez site
October 17, 2007
2theAdvocate.com
A 26-year-old, clean-energy technology company wants to develop a $4 billion synthetic fuel refinery in Natchez at the Mississippi city’s former International Paper site.
read entire article here - Coal-to-fuel plants considered, but few want to be first in line
October 14, 2007
Bismark Tribune
Developers of a coal-to-fuel plant in western North Dakota say more than a dozen similar plants are planned in the U.S. - though no one wants to be the first to build one.
read entire article here - Coal-to-liquid plant considers sites in W.Va.
October 10, 2007
Charleston Gazette
The developer of a liquid coal plant proposed for east-central Ohio is considering several sites in West Virginia for a second such facility.
read entire article here - Air Force likes synthetic fuel from coal - but can it be made?
October 7, 2007
Bismark Tribune
The Air Force wants to power half its in-country flights with a synthetic fuel made from domestic coal by 2016. It has yet to figure out how to get that fuel.
read entire article here - Shenhua's massive Erdos CTL project to help China's energy security
September 17, 2007
MineWeb
As China's largest coal company said it will achieve coal-to-fuel production in 2008, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced Saturday that it will issue rules as early as this year on coal-to-fuel projects to deter overcapacity and reduce the waste of water.
read entire article here (subscription required) - Big Coal Tries to Recruit Military to Kindle a Market
September 11, 2007
Wall Street Journal
The coal industry wants the U.S. military to jump-start a major new market for its product: liquid transportation fuels derived from coal.
read entire article here (subscription required) - Romney: Coal into liquid fuel key to plan
August 16, 2007
Times West Virginian
FAIRLEA — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Thursday repeated his pledge to make West Virginia coal key to his national energy plan, and said that commitment would include federal funding for technology to convert coal into liquid fuel.
read entire article here - Independence won't come cheap
August 20, 2007
Charleston Daily Mail
The state Division of Energy has posted its proposed energy plan -- at www.energywv.org -- and invites public comment online and in public meetings that begin Aug. 23 and run through the end of October.
read entire article here - Summit: Federal support a must for CTL
August 15, 2007
Register Herald
United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts doesn’t have a reputation as a man who is at a loss for words, and when he took the stage Wednesday as a part of a panel discussion on Coal To Liquids technology, his directness cut right to the heart of the issue, in his opinion, as it pertains to coal.
read entire article here - Future of coal-to-liquid plants discussed at conference
August 15, 2007
AP
DANIELS, W.Va. (AP) - Congressman Nick Rahall says incentives for developing plants to make motor fuel from coal are uncertain in Congress.
read entire article here - Coal-To-Liquid Needs Support
August 15, 2007
Forbes
DANIELS, W.Va. - One theme dominated discussion Wednesday at an industry-sponsored conference on turning coal into gasoline and diesel fuel: finding political support for government incentives.
read entire article here - Coals-to-Liquid Conference Comes to Raleigh County
August 14, 2007
WVNS-TV
DANIELS -- The 2007 Coal-to-Liquids Conference kicked off Tuesday and runs through tomorrow at Glade Springs.
read entire article here - Coal-to-liquids touted as way to U.S. energy independence
August 14, 2007
Register-Herald
National security, energy independence and financial dividends for West Virginia coal mining were the hot topics of discussion Tuesday evening as the Coal-To-Liquids Coalition’s two-day conference got under way at The Resort at Glade Springs.
read entire article here - Vital conference — Coal-to-liquid potential important to WV
August 13, 2007
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — Key players with the potential for shaping the nation’s energy future will converge on southern West Virginia today for the nation’s first-ever Coal-To-Liquids Coalition conference.
read entire article here - Coal-to-liquids idea is gaining more supporters
July 21, 2007
Register Herald
About a year and a half ago, anyone preaching the gospel of coal to liquids as a means of breaking the stranglehold of foreign oil merchants on America must have felt only the choir was listening.
read entire article here - Squeezing clean fuels from U.S. coal
July 13, 2007
Sacramento Bee
"You can't get blood out of a stone," the saying goes. But if liquid fuels are the lifeblood of the transportation sector, then technology and economics have combined to disprove that old saw. You can get blood out of a stone - specifically, diesel and other transportation fuels out of coal, at a price competitive with oil-derived fuels.
read entire article here - Air Force wants U.S. to use a decades-old technology to make jet fuel from an abundant American resource
June 18, 2007
Houston Chronicle
WASHINGTON — Concerned about obtaining enough fuel for its fleet, the Air Force is urging lawmakers to reconsider a technology developed eight decades ago.
read entire article here - Democrats Push Coal-to-Liquids Energy Plan
June 13, 2007
Washington Post
A group of Senate Democrats from coal-rich states is drafting an amendment to proposed energy legislation that would provide as much as $10 billion in federal loans to pay for capturing and storing greenhouse gases produced by plants that would turn coal into liquid transportation fuels or chemicals.
read entire article here - Consol wants government to back coal-to-liquids
June 13, 2007
Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The federal government should step in and back development of coal-to-liquid fuel to encourage hesitant coal producers to spend billions of dollars building CTL plants, a senior coal mining executive said.
read entire article here - Obama yields to a greener side
June 13, 2007
LA Times
WASHINGTON — With pressure mounting on Democratic presidential candidates to adopt hard-line positions on curbing global warming, Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday backtracked from his long-held support for a controversial plan to promote the use of coal as an alternative fuel to power motor vehicles.
read entire article here - Senate Democrats Propose Loans for Coal-Based Fuel Plants
June 12, 2007
NY Times
WASHINGTON, June 12 — As the Senate began debate Tuesday on a sprawling bill to reduce oil consumption, top Democrats were circulating a proposal to provide $10 billion in loans for plants that make diesel fuel from coal.
read entire article here - Senior Air Force officials emphasize need for long-term CTL contracting authority
June 6, 2007
TheStreet.com
see the video here - Lawmakers Push for Big Subsidies for Coal Process
May 28, 2007
New York Times
Even as Congressional leaders draft legislation to reduce greenhouse gases linked to global warming, a powerful roster of Democrats and Republicans is pushing to subsidize coal as the king of alternative fuels.
read entire article here - Study: Coal-to-liquids plant feasible
May 22, 2007
Herald News
WASHINGTON -- A study done for the U.S. Department of Energy suggests it would be economically and technically feasible to operate the nation's first-ever coal-to-liquids plant in the Illinois coal basin.
read entire article here - Guest Opinion: Coal key to America's energy future
May 16, 2007
Billings Gazette
If you have filled up your car with gas recently, you have probably noticed that your wallet might be lighter than usual. In just the last two weeks, the average price for gasoline rose to an all-time high, breaking $3 for a gallon of gas.
read entire article here - Liquid Coal: The Alternative Answer?
May 9, 2007
CNBC
The case for and against liquefied coal as a substitute for gasoline, with Peter Altman, National Environmental Trust coal campaign director; John Ward, Headwaters VP of marketing and government affairs; and CNBC's Dylan Ratigan
see video here - Ohio liquid coal advocates cheer pollution study
May 10, 2007
The Plain Dealer
Washington - Politicians and businessmen who want to produce diesel and jet fuel in eastern Ohio from coal and farm waste hailed a study Wednesday that predicted the "coal-to-liquid" product would pollute less than more conventional fuels.
read entire article here - Tester rapped for panel vote on liquid coal amendment
May 3, 2007
Billings Gazette
WASHINGTON - Although he says he supports the technology, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., on Wednesday helped sink a measure pushed by Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., to increase the production of liquid fuels from coal.
read entire article here - GOVERNORS TO UNVEIL WESTERN-SOUTHERN ALLIANCE TO SUPPORT CLEAN LIQUID FUELS FROM AMERICAN COAL
April 16, 2007
NextGen Energy Council
Governors from Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada and West Virginia will announce today a bipartisan, Western-Southern political alliance that will work to promote the development of next-generation clean energy technologies to help America reduce its reliance on foreign energy by producing clean liquid fuels from American coal.
read entire article here - China To Produce Liquid Fuel From Coal In 2008
March 30, 2007
Bernama
China's first coal liquefaction project, which will go into operation in 2008, will be able to produce more than one million tonnes of oil a year, significantly reducing the country's dependence on oil imports.
read entire article here - Rahall, other lawmakers seek coal-to-liquid support
March 29, 2007
Herald Dispatch
WASHINGTON -- Turning domestic coal into liquid fuels could help the United States break its dependence on foreign oil, coal state lawmakers and a newly formed coalition of mining groups, labor unions and coal-using industries said Wednesday.
read entire article here - It's coal vs. oil as lobbying heats up Hill
March 27, 2007
The Hill
Lawmakers generally have two goals when it comes to energy policy: cutting oil imports and curbing greenhouse gas emissions. One problem in meeting both is that they can conflict — as is the case, critics say, in the process by which coal is converted to gasoline.
read entire article here - Sasol eyes US coal in global drive
March 7, 2007
Business Report
Johannesburg - Sasol wants to build coal-to-liquid (CTL) plants in three US states as part of its global expansion programme, according to chief executive Pat Davies.
read entire article here - Cleaner Coal Fuels
March 2, 2007
Christian Science Monitor
Coal companies want to fuel your car and lately, they're getting a lot of political support for the idea.
read entire article here - Cleaner Coal Fuels
February 1, 2007
NY Times
Letter to the editor by Kraig R. Naasz, President & CEO of the National Mining Association on "Energy Rhetoric, and Reality" (editorial, Jan. 25), about the president's request for alternative fuels from coal.
read entire article here - Michael Wynne: Flying out in front
January 27, 2007
Dallas News
About a month ago, in an event barely noticed by the public, a giant Air Force B-52 bomber powered by a mix of synthetic and conventional jet fuel flew a training mission at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The successful test flight proved conclusively that we can, for this aircraft, immediately reduce our demand for conventional jet fuel by up to 50 percent.
read entire article here - Canada's PTRC Finds No CO2 Seepage at Saskatchewan's EOR Operations
January 15, 2007
Gasification News
The Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC), a Canadian group comprising both government and industry oil industry interests, is researching the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) operations at the Weyburn and Midale oil fields in Saskatchewan to learn more about how CO2 behaves underground, acting executive director Brian Kristoff told Gasification News.
read entire article here - Coal-to-liquids: An idea to explore
January 10, 2007
Grand Forks Herald
BISMARCK - With the vacation season ahead, Americans are paying record high prices for gasoline and relying too much on foreign countries for the gasoline they use.
Full text of the op-ed - My Favorite Green Lump
January 10, 2007
NY Times
When it comes to cleaning up coal, Governor Schweitzer of Montana is dead serious. (subscription required)
read entire article here - The Green Gripe With Obama: Liquefied Coal Is Still . . . Coal.
January 10, 2007
Washington Post
Who, but who, would soil the environmental reputation of Barack Obama? The Democratic senator from Illinois gets stellar marks from greens. Just a few months ago he was calling global warming "real," saying: "It is here. . . . We couldn't just keep burning fossil fuels and contribute to the changing atmosphere without consequence."
read entire article here - Energy - Liquid Coal
January 6, 2007
National Journal, via NMA
The bombers and swift-moving tanks that spearheaded petroleum-poor Germany's blitzkrieg during World War II were largely powered by coal — a technological feat made possible by liquefying the fuel. Now, a half-century later, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is touting liquid coal as the most readily available cure for America's addiction to foreign oil.
read entire article here - Liquid coal: A cheaper, cleaner 21st century fuel?
December 17, 2006
Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - When railroads ruled, it was the sweating firemen shoveling coal into the furnace who kept the engines running. Now, nearly two centuries after Stephenson's "Rocket" steam locomotive helped usher in the Industrial Revolution, that same coal could be the fuel that keeps the jet age aloft.
read entire article here - Liquid fuel synthesis: Making it up as you go along
December 6, 2006
Nature
Brian Schweitzer, a rancher and the Democratic governor of Montana, has 'folksy' down to a fine art. In a bolo tie, jeans and cowboy boots, Schweitzer shifts seamlessly from jokes about how his border collie, Jag, drinks out of the toilet to analyses of energy policy in which every complex problem gets its down-to-earth soundbite, from pumping carbon dioxide into the ground ("It came from those rocks, we're just sending it home") to public perceptions of coal as a dirty source of energy ("To a lot of people, coal is a four-letter word").
read entire article here - Pumps are Primed, Clean Diesel will Deliver Cleaner Air
October 10, 2006
EPA
(Washington, D.C., Oct. 10, 2006) Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), the single, most far-reaching environmental and public health achievement since lead was removed from gasoline, is now available for consumers at the pump.
read entire article here - Coal-to-liquids power plant proposed
October 3, 2006
BillingsGazette.com
HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer and a coal-energy partnership Monday announced plans to develop a $1.5 billion to $2 billion coal-to-liquids plant and accompanying "clean coal" power plant south of Roundup.
read entire article here - Military tests 1st synthetic fuel for jets
September 20, 2006
USA Today
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — A 46-year-old jet lumbered off a runway this week on a flight that could lead to a new domestic fuel source, not just for the military but for commercial aviation as well.
read entire article here - Ethanol is glamorous but coal will win in the end
August 29, 2006
Financial Times
In January, I wrote an article describing my pick of the year for 2006, which was Rentech, a coal-to-liquids technology company.
read entire article here - Sasol discussing new S African coal to liquids (CTL) synfuels plant
August 23, 2006
MineWeb
JOHANNESBURG — Amid confusing signals from the South African government, Sasol has confirmed that preliminary discussions have been held regarding a possible future increase in synfuels production capacity in South Africa. The discussions have included the possibility of a new greenfields CTL (coal-to-liquids) project.
read entire article here - Ohio could be on cusp of advance in energy
August 21, 2006
The Columbus Dispatch
The Pentagon's search for a cheaper fuel to power its planes, tanks and trucks has inspired billion-dollar dreams among Ohio leaders and coalindustry executives.
read entire article here - Air Force tests synthetic fuel
August 20, 2006
Miami Herald
Starting at the end of next month, the Air Force plans a series of tests to determine whether using alternative fuel is a viable option.
read entire article here - South Africa Has a Way to Get More Oil: Make It From Coal
August 16, 2006
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
SECUNDA, South Africa — Every day, conveyor belts haul about 120,000 metric tons of coal into an industrial complex here two hours east of Johannesburg. The facility — resembling a nuclear power plant, with concrete silos looming over nearby potato farms — superheats the coal to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It adds steam and oxygen, cranks up the pressure, and pushes the coal through a series of chemical reactions.
read entire article here (subscription required) - Study: Coal-to-liquid plants future of U.S. energy
July 30, 2006
The Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ — America stands at a crossroads and for local leaders the roads cross in Adams County. While officials from Natchez and Adams County were visiting the future coal-to-liquid plant in East Dubuque, Ill., officials from the Southern States Energy Board issued a study looking at the current energy situation in the America.
read entire article here - Congress should promote coal to liquids technology to increase energy independence
July 19, 2006
The Hill
With gasoline prices at the forefront of the national energy debate, it is appropriate that Congress consider measures that would reduce our nation’s dependence on imported oil. One way that we can accomplish this goal is to incent the use of coal-to-liquids technologies that can replace petroleum in powering transportation.
read entire article here - Powering the future: Air Force studies Syntroleum's fuel
July 19, 2006
TulsaWorld: Business
OKLAHOMA CITY — An alternative fuel made by Tulsa-based Syntroleum Corp. is being evaluated by aircraft experts at Tinker Air Force Base.
read entire article here - Search for New Oil Sources Leads to Processed Coal
July 5, 2006
NY Times
EAST DUBUQUE, Ill. — The coal in the ground in Illinois alone has more energy than all the oil in Saudi Arabia. The technology to turn that coal into fuel for cars, homes and factories is proven. And at current prices, that process could be at the vanguard of a big, new industry.
read entire article here - Bunning says bill to boost coal industry has momentum
June 23, 2006
AP
WASHINGTON Senator Jim Bunning says a bill that could give the coal industry a boost is gaining momentum in Washington.
read entire article here - Researchers Work on Alternative Jet Fuel
June 19, 2006
CBS News/AP
The spike in oil prices has prompted plenty of drivers to consider biodiesel-powered or hybrid cars for their daily commute, but what about that gas guzzler we use to fly across country?
read entire article here - La. gets $5 billion plant
June 16, 2006
2theAdvocate.com
State officials unveiled plans Thursday for a newly formed synthetic fuels company to build a $5 billion plant in Geismar that will create up to 1,200 jobs — 900 at the Ascension Parish plant and 300 in north Louisiana coal fields.
read entire article here - Coal-based liquid fuel gaining interest
May 30, 2006
Marketwatch
PHILADELPHIA (MarketWatch) -- Coal's sooty, Industrial Age image may be giving way to an updated vision: coal transformed into clean-burning liquid fuel that can power military jets and, ultimately, reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
read entire article here - Tax credit proposed for coal-based fuel
May 23, 2006
UPI
Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) introduced legislation Tuesday with nine cosponsors that would extend a tax credit to companies that produce coal-to-liquid diesel fuel, which can be used as a replacement for oil-based fuels. The extended tax credit — a 50 cents per gallon alternative fuel credit that exists under a 2005 bill — is designed to stimulate investment in expensive coal-to-liquid facilities, Shimkus said, which would ease U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
read entire article here - Pumping Coal
May 15, 2006
Scientific American
The U.S. is plump with coal. The country has one quarter of the world's reserves, and coal accounts for about 50 percent of the nation's electricity. To cut the reliance on oil imports, why not also use it to power cars and trucks or to heat homes, too?
read entire article here - Turning Coal into Petro
May 15, 2006
EnergyBizInsider
Lots of coal could mean lots of opportunity. Government analysts say that the United States will get 1.7 million barrels of transportation fuel per day from coal by 2030. The coal industry says it will be more, around 2.6 million barrels per day.
read entire article here - Turning Dirty Coal Into Clean Energy
April 25, 2006
NPR
Today's expensive gasoline is making people look for alternatives. That has opened doors of opportunity for entrepreneurs such as Andrew Perlman, who is betting that the "clean" fuel of future will be made from one of humanity's oldest -- and dirtiest: coal.
read entire article here - World may turn back clock for liquid coal future
April 21, 2006
Reuters
Imagine a world where oil is running out and prices are spiraling out of control. Governments are pouring money into potential solutions such as hydrogen fuel cells or new generation nuclear plants to offset the risk for a future energy crisis, but it may be more realistic long-term to turn huge coal reserves into gas and then oil.
read entire article here - Looking toward Big Sky?
April 21, 2006
Chicago Tribune
Just about everywhere Gov. Brian Schweitzer goes in Montana--or elsewhere, for that matter--he brings along a dog, a black rock and a small vial of clear, nearly odorless fluid.
read entire article here - Chemical Companies Look to Coal as an Oil Substitute
April 18, 2006
New York Times
Coal for fuel? Pretty common. But coal as the main ingredient in wall paints, fertilizers, even grocery bags? With oil and natural gas prices showing no signs of plummeting, and with incentives to use coal built into the Energy Policy Act of 2005, it just might happen. And chemical...
read entire article here - PPL exec endorses governor's coal-to-liquid idea
April 11, 2006
Billings Gazette
HELENA -- A top PPL official told Gov. Brian Schweitzer Monday his company will do all that it can to help Montana attract a coal-to-liquids industry.
read entire article here - Coal-based jet fuel poised for next step
March 27, 2006
Penn State
A jet fuel comparable to Jet A or military JP 8, but derived from at least 50 percent bituminous coal, has successfully powered a helicopter jet engine, according to a Penn State fuel scientist. "Because the fuel is 50 percent derived from coal, it could reduce our use of imported petroleum for this purpose by half," says Dr. Harold H. Schobert, professor of fuel science and director of Penn State's Energy Institute. "We have shown in tests that the mix can go to at least 75 percent coal."
read entire article here - Liquid coal is good
March 22, 2006
Bismark Tribune
It sounds suspiciously like alchemy. The Fischer-Tropsch process, which has been around since the 1920s, does something more useful than turning a base metal into gold. It can turn coal into another kind of fuel for which there is a high demand.
read entire article here