Promise of Liquid Coal is Uncertain
Published By: Wall Street Journal
October 8, 2008
Doubts Raised Over Promise of Liquid
Coal
By Stephen
Power
WASHINGTON -- Encouraging
greater production of transportation fuel made
from liquefied coal and Canadian oil sands
could help reduce oil prices but also undermine
U.S. efforts to fight global warming, according
to a report to be released Wednesday by the
Rand Corp.
The
study by Rand, a nonprofit research institute
in Santa Monica, Calif., illustrates the
tensions between fighting global warming and
reducing U.S. dependence on Middle East oil. It
buttresses some criticisms leveled by
environmental groups that certain alternative
sources of fossil fuel result in higher levels
of carbon-dioxide emissions than conventional
motor fuel, when all of their emissions -- from
production through development and consumption
-- are measured.
The
study's authors note that carbon-dioxide
emissions from the production and use of oil
sands are roughly 20% higher than conventional
petroleum, and that emissions from the
production and use of liquid fuel from coal are
about twice the emissions of conventional
fuels. At the same time, the authors say,
greater production of fuel from oil sands and
liquid coal could help expand global fuel
supplies and work to slow the rise in oil
prices.
The
Rand study was funded by the National
Commission on Energy Policy, a Washington-based
group that advises government officials on
energy matters.
Tax
legislation passed by Congress and signed into
law by President George W. Bush last week
contains a provision that makes alternative jet
fuel made from liquefied coal eligible for the
first time for a 50-cents-a-gallon tax
credit.
A
spokesman for the National Mining Association,
Corey Henry, acknowledged that fuel made from
liquefied coal produces high carbon-dioxide
emissions, but said delaying production of it
would exacerbate U.S. dependence on foreign
oil.
