Patton -
Actually this technology is interesting, and the coal Gasification aspect is
a good thing and an adequate near term solution to our energy needs. It can
cut CO2 emissions in half from a standard Coal boiler plant.
That being said I used to do work with Geothermal Energy and the problem
with the conceived Coal CO2 reinjection of the "zero emission" Coal plant
is:
1) you will never be able to predict where that CO2 will end up (we used to
reinject water at the Geysers Geothermal Energy plant with about 20% success
at recycling steam energy, no one ever knew where the water went) and
2) when CO2, SO2 and NO2 (all byproducts of burning coal) mixes with ground
water, you will get carbonic acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid in your
subterranean water supply.
When you combine 1 + 2 you get a potential disaster on your hands. I do not
believe this solution will work on a large scale throughout the US simply
because no one has the technology to adequately map the subterranean
landscape and can guarantee that the CO2 will stay capped in the earth's
crust, no matter what anyone says. Frankly I am 1000% more comfortable with
the bogeyman of nuclear waste disposal because the technologies for that are
now exceptional, and are fundamentally less dangerous than stepping into a
Uranium mine to begin with! CO2 reinjection, however, scares the bejesus
out of me.
My question is, why do we spend so much time trying to protect coal miner's
jobs? I'd rather have those guys working in high tech / zero emissions
energy technology than doing something so dangerous and destructive. Are we
really protecting worthwhile jobs (my grandfather was a coal miner), or are
we simply trying to find every excuse to protect coal mine and coal
plant owners?
Best,
Alan
On 1/26/07, Patton Dickson <57healey@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Alan
>
> What is your take on the so called clean coal power plants? In Texas
> that is a hot button right now as TXU is proposing to build something
> just short of a dozen in the next 10 years to prevent the shortages we
> had last year.... The mayor of Dallas is going to war to stop them.
>
> Patton
>
> On 1/25/07, Alan Seigrist Blue 100 <healey.nut@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > This is because Coal energy represents ~ 50% of the electricity produced
> in
> > the US, and each Kilowatt Hour (kWh) of Coal electricity will produce 2
> lbs
> > of CO2 emission.
>
> --
> Patton Dickson - http://Austin-Healeys.com
>
> 1957 Austin-Healey 100-Six "Built to run 'til the road wears out."
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