Coal Industry Facing Challenges

Proposals to cut carbon dioxide emissions across America could cost an average family of four close to four thousand dollars per year That s what the US Chamber of Commerce reports after a study of proposals on cutting emissions from power plants in the nation It s that kind of statistic that has an official with the Lignite Energy Council saying that the lignite coal industry is facing its biggest challenge ever Jim Olson reports on what lignite producers say is a rush to action regarding emissions Jim Olson KX News Look at a coal-fired power plant on a cold winter day and you d swear it was belching an enormous amount of pollution into the atmosphere But most of what you re seeing in steam from hot gas hitting cold air and coal industry experts say there s actually a small amount of pollution there Still governments - such as in Minnesota where a tough new emission-reducing law was passed - are cracking down on the amount of carbon dioxide coming from plants like these It s called carbon sequestration and it s what an official with the Lignite Energy Council calls the greatest challenge the industry now faces Sandi Tabor Lignite Energy Council CO2 emission reduction is an important thing to be focusing on We ve got technology groups within our industry working on it we re working with national technology labs to work on it but the point of the matter is it s going to take some time Jim Olson KX News Sandi Tabor says there s agreement that controlling carbon emissions is critical But she thinks having rules put in on a state-by-state basis makes no sense Sandi Tabor Lignite Energy Council Any type of regulation on CO2 emissions needs to happen at the national level You cannot have a checkerboard of states with different degrees of emission reductions and expect anyone to be able to meet them in a cost-effective manner Jim Olson KX News Tabor says the power generation industry is researching ways to capture carbon and limit emission but she says the science is still being developed Sandi Tabor Lignite Energy Council The technology if it exists at all is in its infancy especially the technology for lignite Jim Olson KX News And she says when research shows current proposals for carbon sequestration could cost an average family thousands of dollars per year in increased energy costs it s time to do some homework Sandi Tabor Lignite Energy Council Those numbers are shocking and freightening and we all need to take a step back and get a big breath and look at the overall impact of carbon capture and carbon emission reduction will be not just on the North Dakota economy but on the US economy Jim Olson KX News The US Chamber of Commerce is holding forums in four state across the nation to discuss climate change issues One will be in Fargo North Dakota on March 18th