Good Evening! I’m Steve Walker, President and Chief Operating Officer at Walker Machinery in Belle, West Virginia.
At Walker Machinery, we feel an obligation to let everyone know what we believe: that the coal industry has a very bright future in West Virginia and across this nation!
If you’ve seen our billboards and television commercials over the past several years, you know that “Coal Keeps the Lights On” and that “Coal is Cleaner and Greener” than ever before. Are we being cheerleaders for the coal industry? No doubt. Is there a basis for our optimism? You bet… and I’ll tell you why.
As we all know, Coal fueled the industrial age and now Coal is fueling the information age. In the very near future, coal will also help fuel the hydrogen economy as we’ve heard from previous speakers.
We need to develop these new, clean coal technologies - and quick. Coal, because of its plentiful supply, will need to provide the short and near term answer to our energy future. Can you imagine the global demand for energy once China begins to come in to the 21st century, and once the Chinese trade in their bicycles for four- cylinder engines?
We all know that America’s thirst for energy is unquenchable. According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, “Total energy consumption is projected to increase from 97.3 to 130.1 quadrillion BTU’s between 2001 and 2020.” And, coal will power the lion’s share of that if we invest in the technology to make it a viable choice.
In 2002, America’s coal producers mined almost 1.1 billion tons of coal.
West Virginia contributed approximately 163 million tons of that total, or more
than 15 percent of US coal production. As a matter of fact, over 50 percent
of all electricity generated nationwide is created through the use of coal.
In recent years, advances in clean coal technologies have largely occurred in
two main areas: reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions; and super-clean,
more efficient advanced power generation systems for new coal-based power plants
that will power America in the decades to come.
Existing power plants are having these new technologies installed while new power facilities are having them built in at the time of construction. The truth is that practically all of the nation’s coal-fired power plants have some type of advanced pollution control technology in operation. This has allowed coal-fired electric utilities to effectively and efficiently reduce emissions of SO2 and NOX.
In fact, U.S. utilities increased the use of coal by 60 percent between 1980 and 1998. Yet, the nation's power plants were able to reduce emissions of SO2 by 23 percent, and emissions of NOX by 12 percent. The John Amos power plant in Putnam County, for example, installed a $346 million clean air system that will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions on each unit by 90 percent above all other previous reductions.
Newer clean coal technologies not only permit us to mine and burn more coal; they reduce emissions and improve air quality in communities all over the country. Building upon these successes, power plants that our children will depend upon to meet their electricity needs will use coal even more cleanly and efficiently.
There is no question that our positive images of coal are in stark contrast to some others’ gloom and doom predictions. And while there is certainly room for continued improvement, there really is no excuse for anyone to ignore the progress the coal industry has made over the past quarter century.
Since the implementation of the Surface Mining Act of 1977, comprehensive mine reclamation by coal operators and strict environmental stewardship by state and federal inspectors have resulted in very meaningful improvements.
To meet future needs for electricity, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 74 gigawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity will be constructed by 2025. If you don’t know what a gigawatt is, you can be sure it’s a gigga-LOT.
Aside from mom’s home appliances, lighting, heating and industrial uses, the increased demand for electricity is being driven by home computers, other new age devices, telecommunications, and the internet. And, the desire for these products is only going to grow. Coal is our only hope to realistically feed this insatiable demand for power. Therefore, we need to find acceptable ways of using more of it.
That’s why I’m so bullish on the future of coal. And that’s why I’m so excited about the hydrogen economy and the role coal will play. Until now, the prime use of coal has been for the generation of electricity to power our homes and businesses. With new coal gasification technologies, a process by which hydrogen and carbon monoxide are derived, the industry can participate in a whole new power generation segment: transportation.
As you probably contemplated on your ride down here, the use of hydrogen powered vehicles would be a monumental shift in the way the world operates. We would certainly be able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and, in doing so, improve our national security and homeland defense. And the long term positive impact on our environment along with improved health of our citizens would be tremendous.
I don’t intend to recite the litany of new technologies being developed using hydrogen and clean coal technologies since my esteemed colleagues have recounted many of them for you. But I would like to offer my sincere thanks and congratulations to those of you working here in West Virginia who are on the cutting edge of new energy technology development.
I applaud your efforts and I hope that our political leadership will help us get more research and development grants to do more of this essential work. And think of the tremendous economic development opportunities if we can secure more research projects here in our state where much of the nation’s coal is mined.
The National Energy Technology Laboratory, West Virginia University and a growing
number of West Virginia-based private sector research organizations along with
our powerful political leadership have the ability to make this happen, and
we must capitalize on it.
There is no question that coal still has an image problem. But the media is
beginning, ever so slowly, to get beyond the stereotypical coverage topics,
such as mine openings and closings, environmental incidents and political patronage,
and taking a more educated look at the benefits that this bountiful resource
can offer.
I attribute this to a number of factors. The Governor’s Energy Task Force, led by Pat Esposito, is shining a bright light on the opportunities presented by West Virginia’s energy potential. The National Energy Technology Laboratory, West Virginia University, Marshall University and other research entities are not only making energy research a high priority, but are explaining, in layman terms, how coal technologies are transforming this resource into the energy building block of the future.
The state Development Office is beginning to see the benefit of making energy a core focus of our economic development efforts. And, of course, the coal industry, through educational efforts initiated through the Coal Association, Massey Energy and, yes, Walker Machinery to name a few, are making every attempt to espouse the current and future benefits this industry provides to the state and nation.
Going forward, we need leadership, a will to succeed and investment. We must elevate energy as a core focus of our state development efforts. We must seek legislation, both at home and in Congress, that rewards investment. We must train our workforce to meet the challenges of the 21st century energy and environmental industries. And, it is imperative to take every opportunity to explain the benefits and future of coal to every reporter, legislator and citizen that we can.
Our message, your message, it’s gaining traction and beginning to resonate like never before: Coal has a very bright future in West Virginia, and indeed, across this nation. I applaud what you’re doing, and I thank you for allowing me speak to you this evening.