Multi-Industry Coalition Aligns to Advocate Energy Security and Environmental Stewardship...

Multi-Industry Coalition Aligns to Advocate Energy Security and Environmental
Stewardship Through Investments in Advanced Clean Coal Technologies

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 40 leading U.S.
companies from the electricity generation, transportation, coal production,
energy technology, and equipment manufacturing industries have aligned to
create the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). ACCCE will
support public policies that advance environmental improvement, economic
prosperity, and energy security. The organization believes that the use of
coal -- America's most abundant energy resource -- is essential to providing
affordable, reliable electricity for millions of American consumers and a
growing domestic economy. ACCCE also supports enhanced public and private
sector efforts to develop and deploy new, advanced clean coal technologies
that protect and improve the environment.
The formation of ACCCE represents a consolidation of the work previously
done by predecessor groups -- the Center for Energy and Economic Development
(CEED) and Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) -- as well as an
expanded mission for the new organization. CEED, founded in 1992, has been
engaged in a wide range of energy and environmental policies related to
coal-based electricity issues at the regional, state, and local levels. The
mission of ABEC (formed in 2000) has been to educate the American public with
respect to the benefits of coal's use for meeting domestic electricity demand,
including the America's Power campaign (http://www.americaspower.org), which
ACCCE will sponsor going forward. Additionally, ACCCE will take on an
expanded mission by joining other national associations and member companies
to lobby federal policymakers on policies designed to slow, stop, and
ultimately reverse the growth of manmade greenhouse gas emissions.
At the heart of ACCCE's advocacy are important facts that policymakers,
media, and individuals must recognize if America is to meet its economic and
energy policies and its environmental goals:
-- Coal fuels over half of America's electricity; the U.S. has more coal
reserves than any other nation; and coal's domestic abundance and
low-cost (less than 1/3 the cost of other fuels) provide enormous
advantages in enhancing American energy security.
-- The U.S. has made tremendous environmental improvements in the way
coal is used to generate electricity. The use of coal for electricity
generation has more than tripled since 1970, while criteria emissions
controlled under the federal Clean Air Act have been reduced by nearly
50 percent. The industry is committed to reducing emissions even
further -- including the eventual widespread capture and storage of
manmade greenhouse gas emissions.
-- Clean coal technologies are essential in addressing climate concerns.
Technologies to improve power plant efficiencies and to capture and
safely store carbon dioxide emissions present an effective means by
which the nation can achieve significant reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions in the energy sector. With proper investments in
technology, these emissions reductions can be achieved without causing
serious economic dislocations or making the U.S. more reliant on
imported forms of energy.

Stephen L. Miller, ACCCE President and CEO, noted that prudent public
policies must acknowledge the need to meet growing U.S. electricity demand and
to re-ignite the slumping domestic economy, while focusing on continued
environmental improvement.
"Protecting the environment is a shared responsibility -- for individuals,
businesses, and government alike. At the same time, many Americans are also
deeply concerned about the growing reliance on imported energy and increasing
energy costs," said Miller. "Coal is an abundant energy resource found right
here at home, and it is also affordable. Shielding American
consumers -- especially working families and people living on fixed
incomes -- from unnecessary energy price increases must be a national
priority," said Miller.
Miller emphatically answered questions about whether coal can remain a
viable fuel option for the future in a carbon-constrained world. "Coal will
remain a fuel of the future because there has never been an environmental
challenge facing the coal-based electricity sector for which technology did
not provide the ultimate solution," said Miller.
"Those who are most familiar with the current state of research and
development know that deploying technologies to avoid, reduce, capture, and
store manmade greenhouse gases will not be an exception to this rule," Miller
added.
Today's announcement goes well beyond detailing the organizational changes
involved in the formation of ACCCE and bolsters the industry's commitment to
support common sense federal policies that address concerns about climate
change. Miller emphasized that, in its outreach to policymakers and the
American people, ACCCE will also endorse an integrated U.S. climate strategy
that:
-- Promotes rapid and widespread research, development, deployment, and
commercialization of innovative, advanced clean coal and other
technologies -- including carbon capture, transportation, safe
storage, and terrestrial carbon sequestration -- that are vital to the
success of prudent climate change policies.
-- Recognizes any policy addressing climate change is inextricably linked
to broader U.S. energy security, economic development, and
environmental interests and goals.
-- Acknowledges climate is a global issue requiring leadership by the
United States and actions by all nations in a spirit of shared
responsibility to devise and carry out practical, cost-effective
measures by government, business, and citizens to slow, stop, and then
reverse the growth of manmade greenhouse gas emissions;
-- Values coal's vital role in America's energy future and recognizes the
importance of energy efficiency and conservation, as well as a diverse
suite of other domestic energy sources to generate electricity
including nuclear, natural gas, and renewables.

Miller further stated that ACCCE supports the timely adoption of federal
carbon management legislation -- and recognizes that a mandatory cap-and-trade
program is one option for such legislation -- so long as the legislation
appropriately addresses 12 principles that the organization has adopted.
"We can meet the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the
utility sector and still keep energy costs affordable for consumers if we
adequately fund public and private partnerships for developing and deploying
advanced carbon capture and storage technologies and employ reasonable
cost-containment measures in the federal program," Miller said.
Miller stated that the ACCCE members and staff recognize both the
challenge and the opportunity facing the organization in the years ahead. "I
believe our members created ACCCE at just the right time. Our nation faces
great challenges in ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable,
reliable electricity. And we recognize the complexity of instituting a
program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is fair and equitable, while
meeting the environmental, energy security, and economic needs of the American
consumer. But, in times like these, our nation has always stepped up to the
challenge -- and we will do so again. ACCCE looks forward to being a
progressive influence in forging new public policies that will provide real
solutions to the environmental and energy policy challenges we face as a
nation and around the globe," he said.
SOURCE American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity

Joe Lucas or Steve Gates, +1-703-684-6292, both for American Coalition for
Clean Coal Electricity