From BNET Industries, “New DoE Head, Illinois Line Up in Favor of Clean Coal“:

The stars are aligning up once again for clean coal as Barack Obama approaches his presidential coronation. At both the Federal and state level, policymakers are talking about the technology. And sensing an inexorable change on its way, utilities and energy companies are duly lining up to help, albeit for a price.

Within the states, several larger actors are working to pass laws encouraging or even mandating new clean coal plants. At the forefront is Illinois, which just passed a bill allowing $18 million for a full-size clean coal plant some 25 miles southeast of Springfield. The two companies that will construct and operate the plant are Tenaska and MDL Holding, both privately held, while ComEd, a division of Exelon, would be required to buy electricity from the plant, provided rates didn’t rise too high.

More from The Chicago Tribune, “‘Clean coal’: Law could open door to new generation of coal-burning power plants.”

From the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, “Big Stone II pushes clean-energy alternative“:

Can an offer of clean-energy technology seal the deal for Big Stone II?

A group of rural utilities hoping to gain approval for high-voltage power lines from the proposed coal-fired power plant in South Dakota on Tuesday offered to equip the plant with such technology at a hearing before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

The offer was the latest effort by utilities led by Otter Tail Power of Fergus Falls, Minn., to support the proposed Big Stone II power plant in Milbank, S.D. The matter has been before the PUC for more than three years.

And from September, Der Spiegel, “New German Facility Begins Testing CO2 Sequestration“:

A remote spot in Brandenburg has become a popular destination for politicians in the past few months: the Schwarze Pumpe coal power station near Spremberg. Former SPD leader Kurt Beck visited, as did Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee. Brandenburg’s Governor Matthias Platzeck has been there several times.

The attraction? Over the last two years, Swedish power supplier Vattenfall has built a pilot program to demonstrate how CO2 emissions from coal plants can be captured and pumped underground. The technology, known as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), could play a major role in the future of coal-fired energy sources. CCS may give the coal business, regarded as a harmful player in global warming, a much-needed green touch.

Oh yes, as to the photo inset, that’s another one of the ads in the D.C. Metro by the big-money coalition of green activists attacking clean coal. See below. We think it’s a mermaid, but it’s not too terribly clear. Maybe it’s just a cheesecake photo to draw the eye of male commuters.

Sexists.

From Senator Obama’s energy platform, “New Energy for America,” the section, “Diversify Our Energy Sources”:

Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology. Carbon capture and storage technologies hold enormous potential to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as we power our economy with domestically produced and secure energy. As a U.S. Senator, Obama has worked tirelessly to provide incentives to accelerate private sector investment in commercial scale zero-carbon coal facilities. In order to maximize the speed with which we advance this critical technology, Obama will instruct DOE to enter public private partnerships to develop 5 “first of a kind” commercial scale coal-fired plants with carbon capture and sequestration.

These points are consistent, quite consistent, with legislation introduced last year by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), S. 2323, the Carbon Capture and Storage Techology Act of 2007. Republican Sens. Arlen Specter and Ted Stevens were the two cosponsors (not Senator Obama). Among other things, the bill would ” establish 3-5 ‘first-of-a-kind’ coal-fired demonstration plants with carbon capture.”

Senator Kerry chaired a Commerce subcommittee hearing on the bill last November:

“If the United States continues to turn a blind eye to dangerous emissions, we will be forced to climb an even steeper hill in battling global climate change,” said Senator John Kerry. “Carbon capture and storage technologies hold enormous potential to reduce our emissions as we power our economy. This legislation and today’s hearing offer a chance to embrace smart solutions the American way: by harnessing technology to help combat the climate change threat.”

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

From Sen. Obama’s June 28th, 2005, floor statement on passage of H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005:

Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I would like to express my gratitude to the managers of the energy bill, Senators Domenici and Bingaman, for their support of two amendments that I offered. I am proud that these amendments have been included in the legislation that the Senate will vote on today, and I believe that their enactment will help America increase its energy independence and transition our energy industry to full usage of 21st century technologies.

The first adopted amendment, which was cosponsored by Senator Lugar, provides $85 million to three universities for research and testing on developing Illinois basin coal into transportation fuels, including Fischer-Tropsch jet fuel, a type of low-emissions diesel that can be used in jets and diesel. The funds provided in this amendment will assist Southern Illinois University, Purdue University, and the University of Kentucky in upgrading existing facilities and constructing new facilities to conduct research and testing on this technology. It is critical that our Government invests in domestic fossil fuel supplies in an innovative manner, and this is a commonsense way to expand our coal industry in an environmentally friendly manner.

Fischer-Tropsch appears not so popular on the campaign trail these days. No mention in the Senator’s latest energy speech, delivered Monday.  He does mention carbon sequestration favorably, however.

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial today, “The Green Hornet” takes a critical look at that speech and its disconnect from economic, technological and energy realities. In a a relevant passage the editorial also notes that “the cap-and-trade program also favored by Mr. Obama would effectively bar new coal plants.”

Problems like these are the reality of “alternative” energy, and they explain why every “energy independence” plan has faltered since the 1970s. But just because Mr. Obama’s plan is wildly unrealistic doesn’t mean that a program of vast new taxes, subsidies and mandates wouldn’t be destructive. The U.S. has a great deal invested in fossil fuels not because of a political conspiracy or because anyone worships carbon but because other sources of energy are, right now, inferior.

President Bush addressed the West Virginia Coal Association today. Transcript of his 30-minute remarks, which highlighted clean-coal technology:

This year — I mean, since we’ve been in office we’ve spent $2.5 billion on clean coal research. Why? Because it’s a good investment to make sure that an abundant supply of energy is available and is in use for a long time coming. That’s why we’re doing it.

This year alone we’ve requested nearly $650 million in the budget for advanced coal research. It’s the largest such request in 25 years. The funding is supported — is supporting the development of technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions that come from coal. This is something the industry wants the government to do. We want us to be on the leading edge of change. We want to be able to capture CO2. These advances obviously are going to make coal more environmentally friendly. It’ll make it easier for people to say, let’s use this abundant resource.

Today my administration announced $36 million for new carbon capture projects. In other words, it’s more than just research. We’re now beginning to get into the implementation stage of promising new technologies. And eventually the technology may allow us to prevent 90 percent of coal’s carbon emissions from being released into the environment.

Department of Energy news release.

Along with politically topical remarks about opening the OCS to energy development, the President also spent some time promoting nuclear power, including the government-industry partnership for more baseload power generation, Nuclear Power 2010.  A comprehensive approach, we like to say …

Congress is back after the Fourth of July break, and President Bush is in Toyako, Japan, for the G-8 Summit, where energy and and food prices are topical. A House Financial Services hearing Thursday will make headlines, as Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke testify on financial regulation and speculation.

The Senate convenes at 2 p.m. today with consideration and cloture anon of H.R.3221, the housing bill. Action is planned — but so is further delay — on H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act. Medicare payments to doctors, recently cut, will receive attention and hammering blows of rhetorical force. Schedules may change for memorial services for the late Sen. Jesse Helms.

The House convenes at 2 p.m. Tuesday, with a spectrum of suspensions. For all the post office namings and commemorations, turns out that the suspension calendar has been used for more substantive measures. (Just not this week, apparently.) On the floor on regular business is H.R. 5811, Electronic Message Preservation Act, and possibly some appropriations measures. The House floor schedule for the week is available from the Majority Leader’s office here.

House hearings: House Agriculture begins hearings Wednesday to review the Commodity Exchange Act. An Energy and Commerce subcommittee holds a hearing Thursday on H.R. 6258, the Carbon Capture and Storage Early Deployment Act. Also Thursday, Financial Services holds a hearing entitled, “Systemic Risk and the Financial Markets” with Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke on tap. On Wednesday, a House Transportation subcommittee reviews state and local regulations on truck lengths and weights.

Senate hearings: On Wednesday, the Commerce Committee examines the privacy implications of online advertising. Senate Banking holds a hearing Wednesday to examine the OTC credit derivatives market. On Thursday, the Clean Air Subcommittee of Environment and Public Works holds oversight hearings on the EPA and implementation of the renewable fuel standard. Also Thursday, Finance considers infrastructure.  A list of Senate hearings is here.

Executive Branch: Secretary of State Rice is in Europe, including a stop in the Czech Republic on Tuesday to sign a missile defense agreement. Treasury Secretary Paulson addresses an FDIC conference on mortage lending on Tuesday. 

Economic Reports: On Friday, the Commerce Department releases the trade deficit for May, and the Conference Board releases consumer sentiment for June. CBS Marketwatch has the week’s economic events listed here.  The European Parliament holds its plenary session, with French President Sarkozy outlining the priority of France’s next six months in charge, and food additives policy on the agenda.