CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia regulators have approved an air pollution permit for a New York firm that wants to build a coal-to-gas plant in Mingo County.
The action by the Department of Environmental Protection was announced in a news release that quoted Gov. Joe Manchin praising the project proposed by TransGas Development.
"The security of our nation is one of our greatest priorities, and West Virginia is at the forefront by using one of our domestic natural resources to achieve this goal," Manchin said in the DEP release. "I applaud TransGas for their commitment not only to investing in our state with this technology, but also for helping us secure our national energy independence."
But the Sierra Club noted that the TransGas facility does not plan to capture and store its carbon dioxide emissions, meaning the project's fuel would create twice the greenhouse gas pollution as traditional gasoline.
"Today's announcement is disappointing," said Sierra Club spokesman Bill Price.
"Moving forward with this huge new source of air pollution is simply a bad investment," Price said. "This plant is not 'clean,' would use a massive amount of precious water and would continue to destroy mountains and communities."
TransGas submitted a permit in 2008 for a plant to produce 750,000 gallons per day of gasoline from coal. The project, proposed for near Wharncliffe, would use 3 million tons of coal a year.
When Manchin announced the project during an energy summit in December 2008, developers said it would create about 200 jobs. Under existing law, the $3 billion project could receive up to $600 million in state economic development incentives.
West Virginia construction unions have complained that the company has not yet agreed to use local workers to build the plant.
DEP officials said they were not able to limit the plant's greenhouse emissions because current state and federal laws do not include such limits.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia regulators have approved an air pollution permit for a New York firm that wants to build a coal-to-gas plant in Mingo County.
The action by the Department of Environmental Protection was announced in a news release that quoted Gov. Joe Manchin praising the project proposed by TransGas Development.
"The security of our nation is one of our greatest priorities, and West Virginia is at the forefront by using one of our domestic natural resources to achieve this goal," Manchin said in the DEP release. "I applaud TransGas for their commitment not only to investing in our state with this technology, but also for helping us secure our national energy independence."
But the Sierra Club noted that the TransGas facility does not plan to capture and store its carbon dioxide emissions, meaning the project's fuel would create twice the greenhouse gas pollution as traditional gasoline.
"Today's announcement is disappointing," said Sierra Club spokesman Bill Price.
"Moving forward with this huge new source of air pollution is simply a bad investment," Price said. "This plant is not 'clean,' would use a massive amount of precious water and would continue to destroy mountains and communities."
TransGas submitted a permit in 2008 for a plant to produce 750,000 gallons per day of gasoline from coal. The project, proposed for near Wharncliffe, would use 3 million tons of coal a year.
When Manchin announced the project during an energy summit in December 2008, developers said it would create about 200 jobs. Under existing law, the $3 billion project could receive up to $600 million in state economic development incentives.
West Virginia construction unions have complained that the company has not yet agreed to use local workers to build the plant.
DEP officials said they were not able to limit the plant's greenhouse emissions because current state and federal laws do not include such limits.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
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Simply, coal to gas is a grave threat to our national security due to the Carbon Dioxide that contributes massively to gathering climate change.
Even the Pentagon has come out with reports that plan for climate change induced unrest. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121352495
The science is very clear. Coal to gas is a grave danger to the world and its future, and thus a threat to national security. Stop the plant!