At present there are eighttotal, with two more in the planning stages. In addition to the High PlainsGasification Center, examples include the Center for Energy Economics, theEnhanced Oil Recovery Institute, and the Coal Bed Methane Research Center.Basic coal conversion technologies have been around a long time, some sinceWorld War I. The reason that clean coal technology is such a focus now, saysNortham, is concern over CO2 emissions, the rising dependence upon importedoil, and the desire of coal-producing states such as Wyoming, Illinois, andWest Virginia to keep coal in the energy mix. "The USA derives more than 50% of its electricity from burning coal," saysNortham.
"If coal were to be eliminated from that market because of concernsover emissions, the whole country would be in dire straights."Wyoming produces the most coal of any state in the U.S. In 2007, Wyomingproduced 453.6 million short tons of coal or 39.6% of the total U.S.production, which was 300 million short tons (nearly 200%) more than itsnearest competitor, West Virginia."As we look toward the future, which will likely include some form of carbondioxide regulation, these types of technologies will enable coal to be aviable fuel for the nation and the world for many years to come," saysGovernor Freudenthal."A partnership with the coal industry from a clean coal technology standpointis an important agenda for the State of Wyoming," says Blalock. "It's anagenda for our governor, and it's critical that UW, from an academicstandpoint, partners with industry to ensure an emphasis on research that iscritical for the ongoing strength of the coal industry for generations tocome, ultimately having a positive impact on the state of Wyoming and theUniversity of Wyoming." Wyoming also leads the nation in formulating carbon sequestration legislation.In 2008, legislation established that surface owners control the undergroundpore spaces where carbon dioxide could be stored or sequestered and that theWyoming Department of Environmental Quality is the authority to regulate thelong-term storage of carbon dioxide. In 2009, legislation established that mining and drilling rights will beprioritized over geologic sequestration activities; that the ownership andliability for sequestered CO2 belong to the injector; and that pore spacerights from multiple parties would be aggregated for the purposes of a carbonstorage project as long as 80 percent of the parties approve the project."The only thing that's really missing now in our legislative toolbox forsequestration is the liability piece: who is going to be responsible forfinancial assurance for the process," says Northam. "That's really thestickiest issue because this is a very long term process." A Carbon Sequestration Working Group, which includes Northam, is currentlyworking on this issue.The Arch Coal Foundation was formed in December 2005 with an initial endowmentfrom St Louis-based Arch Coal, Inc (NYSE: ACI), one of the nation's largestcoal producers Arch Coal's core business is providing U.S.
power generatorswith cleaner-burning low-sulfur coal for electric generation. Through itsnational network of mines, Arch supplies the fuel for approximately 6 percentof the electricity generated in the United States. Arch's subsidiaryoperations in Wyoming employ more than 1,200 and produced 100 million tons oflow-sulfur coal in 2008 from its Black Thunder, Coal Creek and Arch of Wyomingmines.SOURCEArch Coal, Inc.Mr. Greg Schaefer, VP External Affairs, +1-304-464-2330,, or Ms.