1. Clean Coal Technologies create jobs

    April 7, 2009 by admin

    Economic Benefits from Advanced Coal Electric Generation

    February 11, 2009

    The Next Generation of Advanced Clean Coal Technologies to Create Millions of Jobs for American Workers

    Unions and Industry Group Release Study Citing Economic Impacts of Advanced Coal Electric Generation

    (Washington, D.C.)– A coalition of key labor and energy industry groups agree that the next generation of advanced clean coal technologies – those that capture and safely store carbon dioxide (CO2) - will create millions of high-skilled, high-wage jobs for American workers.

    The Industrial Union Council of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) today released a study entitled “Employment and Other Economic Benefits from Advanced Coal Electric Generation with Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies (Preliminary Results).”

    The study estimates the employment and economic benefits resulting from deployment of advanced coal-based electricity generation facilities (power plants) equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Depending on how many CCS-equipped plants are deployed, some five to seven million man-years of employment could be created during construction and a quarter of a million permanent jobs added during operations (see table below.)

    Conducted by BBC Research and Consulting, the study assumes that 20, 65 and 100 gigawatts (GW) of advanced coal-based electricity generation equipped with CCS are added to the nation’s generation mix. (One gigawatt provides enough electricity to power 300,000 - 400,000 homes. There are slightly more than 300 gigawatts of coal-based power plants in operation today). In addition, the study estimates the benefits of HR 6258, introduced by Representative Boucher in 2008, that provides independent funding support for the early commercial demonstration of CCS technologies.

    A U.S government economic model was used to calculate the resulting benefits in terms of jobs, output, value-added (GDP) and labor income associated with both the construction and operation of advanced coal-based facilities equipped with CCS. Preliminary results of the study are summarized in the tables below:

    Cumulative Benefits During Construction

    Benefits 100GW 65GW 20GW Boucher
    Jobs (million job years) 6.9 4.5 1.4 0.2
    Output (trillions) $1.1 $0.7 $0.2 $0.03
    Labor Income (billions) $368 $240 $75 $12

    Annual Benefits During Operations

    Benefits 100GW 65GW 20GW Boucher
    Jobs (thousands) 251 153 48 2.5
    Output (billions) $58 $36 $11 $2
    Labor Income (billions) $17 $10 $3.2 $0.5

    Bob Baugh, executive director of the Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO, representing some three million union members, including the IBEW, Boilermakers and Mine Workers, observed “Our nation needs good jobs and new technology that will cut our carbon emissions. It is time to quit talking about advanced coal technology and begin building it.”

    “This study is a valuable contribution to the national debate on energy policy,” said Ed Hill, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “While we support the development of wind and solar power on a large scale, the only realistic course for our nation is to minimize the carbon emissions from coal generation, which, along with nuclear, will continue to be a vital part of our energy mix for the foreseeable future.”

    “Carbon capture and storage technology is essential to enabling the responsible use of our nation’s strategic coal reserves — a resource we cannot ignore if we are to make energy independence a reality,” said Newton Jones, president, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. “This study demonstrates that it also has the potential to create thousands of good paying jobs for boilermakers and other union building trades. We urge policymakers to keep the results of this study in mind as they move forward in regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and take appropriate steps to encourage the commercialization of CCS technology.”

    “This study demonstrates that developing CCS technology in America is a win-win-win for all concerned,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “Workers and their families win, the communities where these facilities will be constructed win, and the environment wins. It’s time to get started.”

    “The results of this study show the importance of deploying CCS technologies, not only because of their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also because of their substantial economic benefits, At the same time, we must ensure that these technologies are developed and commercialized as rapidly as possible to achieve these benefits. ” said Steve Miller, president and CEO, ACCCE.

    A full version of the study can be obtained at: www.americaspower.org.

    Websites for additional information:

    American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity: http://www.cleancoalusa.org/

    About ACCCE

    The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is a non-profit, non-partisan partnership of companies involved in producing electricity from coal. Because coal is America’s most abundant energy resource, ACCCE supports energy policies that balance coal’s vital role in meeting our country’s growing need for affordable and reliable electricity with the need to protect the environment. ACCCE also advocates for the development and deployment of advanced clean coal technologies that will produce electricity with near-zero emissions. Headquartered in Alexandria, VA. For more information, visit ww.cleancoalusa.org or www.americaspower.org

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  2. Obama Energy Policy Agenda - January 2009

    by admin

    ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

    The energy challenges our country faces are severe and have gone unaddressed for far too long. Our addiction to foreign oil doesn’t just undermine our national security and wreak havoc on our environment — it cripples our economy and strains the budgets of working families all across America. President Obama and Vice President Biden have a comprehensive plan to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs.

    The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:

    • Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
    • Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
    • Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
    • Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
    • Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

    Energy Plan Overview

    Provide Short-term Relief to American Families

    • Crack Down on Excessive Energy Speculation.

    Eliminate Our Current Imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 Years

    • Increase Fuel Economy Standards.
    • Get 1 Million Plug-In Hybrid Cars on the Road by 2015.
    • Create a New $7,000 Tax Credit for Purchasing Advanced Vehicles.
    • Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
    • A “Use it or Lose It” Approach to Existing Oil and Gas Leases.
    • Promote the Responsible Domestic Production of Oil and Natural Gas.

    Create Millions of New Green Jobs

    • Ensure 10 percent of Our Electricity Comes from Renewable Sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
    • Deploy the Cheapest, Cleanest, Fastest Energy Source – Energy Efficiency.
    • Weatherize One Million Homes Annually.
    • Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology.
    • Prioritize the Construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.

    Reduce our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80 Percent by 2050

    • Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
    • Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change.

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