"Understanding the Future of Sustainable Energy"

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About the Author

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sees coal as the primary energy source for the next 100 or so years  for electric power generation .   To reduce global climate change, the government is investing in carbon dioxide sequestration technology where CO₂ emissions from coal plants will be captured and stored underground (out of the atmosphere) for eternity.

This process sounds good in theory, but is by no means trivial.  It is very difficult and energy intensive to separate the carbon dioxide from coal before or after oxidation to generate a useful product.  In addition it is very energy intensive to transport the carbon dioxide to the underground taverns and to compress the carbon dioxide sufficiently for injection.  Then it is unsure how well and for how long the carbon dioxide will remain under ground as a gas.

The best way to keep carbon dioxide in the ground is as solid coal- not as carbon dioxide gas.  Lets keep the carbon in the ground as a solid, if at all possible.  As a cheap readily abundant energy sources coal may become increasingly popular in the future. Cleaning up coal emissions and coal carbon capture will undoubtedly increase the price of coal.  Coal is currently considered a cheap energy resource, however with carbon-capture and technology to maintain low emissions the price of coal generation will increase making other energy alternative more attractive.  None-the-less coal with carbon-capture can provide national security, reduce green-house gas emissions and should be very cost competitive.  However, for the environment we have to keep the government honest and ensure that clean coal technologies with carbon capture and sequestration are used.

United States Electric Production by Resource for 2005 (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-880, Annual Electric Generator Report. [Taken from California Energy Commission]