THE DETAILS BEHIND THE FACTS
IN REALITY, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL IN AMERICA TODAY
There are no homes in America powered by clean coal today. There are no clean coal power plants
selling electricity in America today. In fact, America does not have a single demonstration clean coal
plant that captures and safely stores its carbon pollution. The technologies that capture or safely
store CO2 have not yet been integrated with coal power at commercial scale. This means that the
roughly 600 coal plants producing electricity in the US today are not preventing their global warming
pollution from entering the atmosphere. Although the technologies are being developed and tested,
in reality, there is no such thing as clean coal power in America today.
COAL IS A LEADING SOURCE OF GLOBAL WARMING EMISSIONS
Burning coal for electricity is a leading source of global warming pollution in the US. Emissions from
coal combustion for electricity contribute 32% of US CO2 emissions. The CO2 emissions from this
coal combustion are larger than the emissions from gasoline and diesel transportation, which
together contribute 27% of US CO2 emissions.1
Coal is also disproportionately more polluting than other fuels used in the US to produce electricity.
83% of the CO2 emissions produced from making electricity come from coal even though coal is the
fuel source for only about half of US electricity generation.2 Per unit of electricity produced, CO2
emissions from coal are more than 1.5 times those of natural gas, the other major fossil fuel source of
electricity in the US.3
CAN COAL POWER BE PART OF THE SOLUTION TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS?
If America's coal power plants capture and store their CO2 pollution, they will no longer be
contributing to the climate crisis and could form a crucial part of a clean electricity generation mix in
America. However, coal power plants that do not have the ability to safely capture and store their
CO2 pollution, including all of the plants operating in the US today, are increasing global warming
pollution by billions of tons per year.
For more information about solving the climate crisis, go to wecansolveit.org.
DO WE NEED TO WAIT FOR COAL POWER THAT CAPTURES AND STORES ITS POLLUTION IN
ORDER TO SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS?
We do not need to wait. We can begin solving the climate crisis now by reducing global warming
emissions with proven renewable energy technologies and dramatically improved energy efficiency.
Carbon-free energy sources are already providing power to millions of homes in America. New
policies can stimulate and increase use of renewable generation and upgrades in energy efficiency,
that, when combined with a unified national smart grid, will enable 100% clean, climate-friendly
electricity within 10 years. Go to RepowerAmerica.org to learn more.
IS COAL POWER NECESSARY TO SUPPORT AMERICA'S ELECTRICITY DEMANDS?
If coal power plants capture and safely store their carbon pollution, coal can be part of America's
100% clean electricity mix. If the coal industry is unable to prevent CO2 emissions from entering the
atmosphere, America's electricity demands can be met in numerous other ways. The path towards a
clean electricity system includes advances in efficiency, more generation from renewable sources, a
unified national smart electricity grid, and a transition to clean cars. Repower America means new
industries with millions of high-paying jobs. It means lower and less volatile energy bills.
Energy Efficiency: A national upgrade to eliminate waste, save money, and improve comfort. Make
every bit of energy we produce work harder for us.
Renewable Generation: Accelerate the ramp-up of clean, renewable electricity sources through
policies that support increased private and public investment in technologies that work, like wind,
solar, and geothermal.
Unified National Smart Grid: Modernize transmission infrastructure so that clean electricity generated
anywhere in America can power homes and businesses across the nation; Build national electricity
'interstates' that move power quickly and cheaply to where it is needed; Establish local smart grids
that buy and sell power from households and support clean plug-in cars.
Automobiles: Transition to efficient plug-in cars that 'fuel' with clean electricity. In combination with the
unified grid, a nationwide fleet of plug-in vehicles also provides a key source of electricity storage and
reliability.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR COAL TO BE PART OF THE CLIMATE SOLUTION?
Integrated capture and storage for coal power needs to be commercialized so it is available for all
coal power plants. The timeline for this commercialization is uncertain - it depends on passing laws
and regulations that will make it happen. Although various technologies for CO2 capture, transport,
and storage have been in development for decades, technology challenges and insufficient
investment have prevented faster ramp-up of demonstrations and pilot projects. Coal industry groups
have also been unsupportive of national climate policies that would encourage faster
commercialization (i.e. legislation that places a value on CO2 that is captured and stored).
To be part of the future energy mix, the coal industry must quickly devote resources for
commercial-scale development of integrated carbon capture, transport, and sequestration (CCS)
systems. Greater investment, along with a moratorium on new coal plants without capture and storage
and effective US carbon policies, could speed the availability of electricity from coal power that
doesn't release its carbon pollution to the atmosphere.
IF COAL CAPTURES AND STORES ITS CO2, DOES THAT MAKE IT "CLEAN"?
No -- not unless other environmental practices, standards and rules are adopted as well. Coal mining
practices like mountain top removal permanently destroy landscapes and pollute waterways. Burning
coal to produce electricity can release over 100 pollutants into the atmosphere.4 Without adequate
pollution controls, many plants today still emit dangerous levels of mercury (which enters our food
supply and causes birth defects), nitrogen oxides (which contribute to smog and asthma), and fine
particulate matter (which causes heart and lung disease) that prematurely kills thousands of people
every year. Coal cannot be clean without capturing and storing its global warming pollution but CCS
by itself is not sufficient - comprehensive environmental controls must be applied to all coal power
plants.
HOW DOES A COAL POWER PLANT MAKE ELECTRICITY?
Coal power plants burn coal or its byproducts to produce electricity.
In pulverized coal plants, coal is grinded up, blown into a furnace and then burned to produce steam,
which turns a steam turbine coupled with an electric generator, which produces electricity. Nearly all
coal plants operating and being built today are pulverized coal power plants. In a pulverized coal plant
with CO2 capture, carbon would be chemically separated and captured from the exhaust (flue) gas
created by burning the coal.5
In integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants, the coal is grinded up and fed into a gasifier
that converts it into a syngas. This coal-based gas is burned to produce very hot gases and steam
that turn turbines coupled with electric generators, which produce electricity. IGCC is a relatively new
technology and there are just a few plants operating in the US. In an IGCC power plant with CO2
capture, the CO2 would be captured from the syngas before it is used to produce electricity (whereas
the pulverized coal plant captures the CO2 after the electricity is produced).6
WHAT IS "CLEAN" COAL?
For a coal power plant to be clean, in addition to addressing local environmental concerns, its CO2
emissions must be captured and safely stored so that they cannot enter the atmosphere. Carbon
capture and sequestration (CCS) is the technical term for preventing global warming pollution from
coal power plants. Technology assessments indicate CCS can prevent 80% to nearly 100% of a coal
power plant's CO2 from entering the atmosphere. CCS can include pre-combustion or
post-combustion capture. CO2 injected for enhanced oil recovery can be considered a storage
solution as long as the CO2 is permanently retained in the oil field.
WHAT IS SEQUESTRATION?
Sequestration in the context of coal power refers to long-term storage of CO2 from coal power plants
in non-atmospheric reservoirs, mainly geologic formations that trap the CO2. Geologic carbon
sequestration involves injecting carbon dioxide, usually in a liquid form, into underground media like
deep saline formations, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and unmineable coal seams. Sequestration
is the last stage of the CCS process after CO2 has been captured at a coal power plant, compressed
from a gaseous phase to a fluid, transported by pipeline (if the plant is not near a sequestration site),
and then finally injected into deep subsurface formations.
In order to ensure that sequestration sites and operations are safe, the US Environmental Protection
Agency, the US Department of Energy, and many environmental organizations are beginning to
develop potential frameworks and criteria for CO2 sequestration. As part of this effort, the EPA has
published a proposed rule under the Safe Drinking Water Act to safeguard underground sources of
drinking water from injection activities.
WHAT IS THE STATUS OF US COAL POWER PLANTS WITH CCS?
Commercial CCS Today: There are currently no coal power plants that capture and store their CO2 in
operation or under construction in the US.
Near-term Planned Pilot CCS: There is one project under construction in West Virginia that will test
CCS technologies by siphoning off about 1-2% of the exhaust from a very large existing coal power
plant and then capturing and sequestering the carbon from the siphoned gas. In the medium-term
several other projects plan similar slipstream tests.
Testing of Capture Technology for CCS: There is one small 1.7MW project testing CO2 capture
technology for the purpose of CCS development. This project is not testing CCS however, as the
captured CO2 is subsequently released to the atmosphere.
Capture without Sequestration: There are a few power plants that siphon a portion of their exhaust to
capture CO2 that is sold for the food and beverage industry. This captured CO2 is not prevented
from entering the atmosphere (i.e. there is no sequestration). There is also an industrial coal facility
that captures the CO2 from its power production for use in mineral processing but there is no
sequestration.
CCS without Electricity Production: An industrial coal gasification facility in North Dakota captures
about one million tons a year of its CO2 for injection into the Weyburn oil field sequestration project in
Canada.
Proposed New Power Plants with CCS: There are several power plants in the permitting phase that
indicate a plan to demonstrate CCS technologies.
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