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To: craig crawford who wrote (771)	9/5/2001 3:54:01 AM
From: craig crawford	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1643

Coal Industries Hope for Revival Coal-Related Industries in Pennsylvania Hope for Revival With Federal Energy Bill biz.yahoo.com Sunday September 2, 6:56 pm Eastern Time READING, Pa. (AP) -- Coal-related industries in Pennsylvania hope for an economic boost from proposed changes in federal energy policy they say could bring jobs and clean up piles of waste coal littering the countryside. The plan stresses development of domestic energy sources such as coal, and in its current form would include $33.5 billion in tax breaks for energy producers over the next 10 years. President Bush's emphasis on coal in his national energy plan can only help Pennsylvania's coal industry, according to the state's two major coal groups. ``It's very encouraging,'' said George L. Ellis, president of the Harrisburg based Pennsylvania Coal Association. ``It wasn't too long ago that we were thought to be a dinosaur,'' he said. ``The very fact that coal is being debated on a national scale, (that it's) now part of a public debate on how to address our energy problems, that's extremely encouraging.'' Ellis represents the state's bituminous coal industry, for the most part located west of the Susquehanna River and concentrated in the southwestern part of the state. Ninety percent of the state's high-sulfur bituminous coal is sold to electric utilities, and that makes the $2 billion earmarked for clean coal research and development vital to clean up bituminous coal's high sulfur content. Duane C. Fegley of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Council said the anthracite coal from a 10-county region in northeastern Pennsylvania hasn't seen the resurgence in demand and price that bituminous coal has, but the focus on coal is good for the industry overall. Two years ago, U.S. power firms were considering perhaps three or four new coal-fired electric power plants, totaling at most about 2,000 megawatts. ``Today, there are about 50,000 megawatts of coal-fired plants now in the planning stages,'' said Rod J. Ragan, senior vice president of Green Hills-based Parsons Energy & Chemicals Group. The power plant designer is among a number of companies that hope to benefit, along with Carpenter Technology Corp., which makes many of the specialty steels used in the plants, and construction and support firms.