I know you don't understand this, but it's the denial fringe that's been discredited. From Copenhagen to DC and other capitals to states and cities, that battle isn't anymore. When Idaho starts selling permits before Cal gets cap'n trade going, you can believe that nobody of any importance sees you as anything but the lunatic fringe. Can High Priest Inhofe stall things in the senate? Doesn't even matter; nobody pays attention to the circle jerkers any more. I know it feels good to keep saying "It's broken", but nobody is listening except you guys.
Idaho clean-coal permit sets national standard in the fight against climate change
BY ROCKY BARKER - rbarker@idahostatesman.com
Published: 11/30/09
Idaho environmental regulators issued a permit Monday to a company that plans to operate a clean-coal gasification fertilizer plant near American Falls. The permit limits carbon dioxide emissions under an agreement between the state, Southeast Idaho Energy, the Sierra Club and Idaho Conservation League. It is the first plant in the state and the nation with enforceable greenhouse gas emission limits and one of the first clean coal plants with a permit in the nation.
“This permit is a win-win for the people of Idaho,” said Justin Hayes, Program Director for the Idaho Conservation League. The permit was issued only days before negotiators from around the world arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark, to write a new treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Developing a system that could remove carbon from coal would increase the amount of greenhouse gas emission cuts that could be made economically. The $2 billion plant, which would be built in Power County, would turn coal into gas that would produce nitrogen fertilizer and sulfur. The company expects to hire 700 to 1,000 people during construction with 150 permanent workers. The company would separate the carbon dioxide and ship it to Wyoming where it can be pumped underground to enhance the extraction of natural gas. Initially it would ship the carbon dioxide by rail but hopes to eventually build a pipeline that would allow it to economically capture even more carbon dioxide.
“Carbon capture and sequestration have always been a fundamental part of our overall business plan,” said Ramesh Raman, Southeast Idaho Energy president.
DEQ had issued a permit to the company in February but it was challenged by the Sierra Club and ICL. The environmental groups argued that the plant as permitted then could have emitted 2.3 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Scientists say the gas traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. That would have been about twice the amount of carbon dioxide that would be released from a normal natural gas-fired fertilizer plant, said Andrea Issod, a Sierra Club staff attorney. The company’s commitment to remove and sequester 58 percent of carbon dioxide in the coal sets a national standard for the “best available control."
“We applaud the state of Idaho and Southeast Idaho Energy Inc. for making an important commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from this coal project,” Issod said. DEQ officials said they will not include greenhouse gas emissions limits in future air quality permits until federal regulations have been finalized.
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