<< Back to all articles

Bill would offer tax credits to promote clean coal plants in Texas
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - January 20, 2009

By AMAN BATHEJA – Fort Worth Star-Telegram
State lawmakers are preparing to debate whether there is such a thing as clean coal. Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, has filed a bill offering up to $300 million in tax credits to
companies interested in building so-called clean coal plants in Texas. The plants, the first of their kind in the nation, would be designed to sequester at least 60 percent of the carbon dioxide they produce. Under those guidelines, the plants would meet the emission standards of California and Washington, according to supporters.

The bill has backing from more than just energy companies. Democratic Rep. Rafael Anchia of Dallas is co-authoring the bill. Former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, who, citing pollution concerns, strongly opposed a previous proposal by TXU to build several coal plants in Texas,
also supports the bill in her role as Texas projects director for Summit Energy of Poulsbo, Wash. "It’s a pretty diverse group to try and build clean coal plants in Texas," King said, noting that Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams and Donald Hodel, energy secretary under President
Ronald Reagan, are also supporters.

Tax credits
The legislation would issue franchise tax credits of up to $100 million to the first three completed qualifying plants. The credits could not be claimed until a plant was fully operational. The bill "tries to help us over that prototype penalty," King said. "The first few plants will be more expensive." King said some of the captured carbon dioxide could be used for enhanced oil recovery, in which liquefied carbon dioxide is pushed into older oil wells to force the remaining oil to the surface. The legislation is likely to draw mixed reaction, as environmentalists are divided on the merits of clean coal.

Scott Anderson, policy director of the Environmental Defense Fund in Austin, said he wants to see some amendments to the bill’s first draft but plans to support it if it’s part of a broader package of legislative initiatives focused on reducing carbon emissions.

Mixed reaction
Anderson said some environmental groups won’t support the bill unless 100 percent of the carbon dioxide from the plants is captured. Other groups won’t support any coal plants under any circumstances. "We’re not champions of coal at EDF, but we’re realists and know that coal will play a role for some time to come, and for that reason we support the development of coal technologies that will reduce its carbon footprint," Anderson said. Several groups have lambasted the very concept of clean coal, with one coalition running TV commercials mocking the term as a fantasy. "It’s a boondoggle," said Gail Pressberg with CLEAN, a nationwide coalition of state and local organizations devoted to renewable energy. "Why would we want to have the government invest in clean coal research and technology when you don’t know if it’s going to work?"
Pressberg said that along with the uncertainty that carbon can be sequestered in an economical and environmentally safe way, there are concerns over the pollution created by coal extraction. "It’s a bridge to nowhere, except this is not Alaska," Pressberg said.
January 20, 2009