OPINION: Alaska’s ‘clean coal’ misadventure shows dangers of jumping aboard energy hype

Alaska is a poster child for the catastrophic impacts of climate change, with permafrost melting rapidly, villages falling into the sea, salmon and crab resources collapsing, and much more is in store. Yet, the governor, legislators and our congressional delegation want to continue charging full speed ahead with increasing oil and gas production and now a huge proposed coal plant in some of the wilderness closest to the state’s population center.

The amended bill was viewed by legislators as a method to increase oil, gas and even coal production while addressing climate change impacts. The debate failed to address the state of sequestration technology, which is known as carbon capture and storage in federal and scientific lingo. Nevertheless, a proposed massive 400-megawatt coal-fired power plant in the Susitna River Valley is gaining momentum as an answer to declining gas production in Cook Inlet. The plant, proposed by Texas-based Flatland Energy, would build a 60-mile pipeline to Beluga to transport carbon emissions for injection into depleted gas wells.

In 1991, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority led a $300 million “clean coal” project including the Usibelli coal mine in Healy, Golden Valley Energy Authority , U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Alaska. AIDEA invested $150 million, DOE $120 million, the State of Alaska $25 million, and Usibelli and GVEA each invested $1 million.

Source: Energy Industry News (energyindustrynews.net)

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