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Seliger proposes clean coal bill
Amarillo Globe-News - January 16, 2009

AUSTIN - Renewable sources of power will play a key role in making Texas energy independent, but nonrenewable sources remain just as important, according to state Sen. Kel Seliger.

With that in mind, on Thursday the Amarillo Republican introduced a bill that, if the Legislature approves and Gov. Rick Perry signs into law, would promote the construction of large-scale clean coal power-generating facilities in Texas.

In a nutshell, the bill would make Texas the first state with significant incentives for large-scale clean coal power plants that capture at least 60 percent of the carbon dioxide they produce, according the Seliger's office.

"This legislation represents a very important first step in making clean coal technology in the state of Texas," Seliger said in a press conference after introducing Senate Bill 483. "I believe that clean coal technology will be the future standard for coal-fired power generation.

"In utilizing our country's abundant coal resources to produce much-needed energy, it is incumbent to proceed in an environmentally responsible fashion," he added. "One day, others will look to Texas as the leader in a clean coal world."

The projects would be the first of their kind in the United States and each project could represent potential investments in excess of $2 billion per facility, according to Seliger's office. Moreover, it is estimated that each project could result in the creation of more than 2,000 new construction jobs starting as early as next year.

Seliger, who sits on the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and is the author of a FutureGen bill the Legislature overwhelmingly approved last session, said he introduced SB 483 because some of his constituents in Odessa told him they were interested "moving ahead with clean coal."

The projects would benefit the entire the state, not just where the plants are built, he said.

"It benefits our schools, it benefits the state budget," Seliger said. "CO2 has been used in parts of the Texas Panhandle as well. We produce energy in the Texas Panhandle, we use it in coal."

Other legislators, Republicans and Democrats, who joined Seliger's news conference said they agree with him and will support his bill.

"This is the technology that we should be looking at and Texas is the place to do it," said Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, co-author of a companion bill in the House. "If we act now this could be a vibrant marketplace and a vibrant industry in Texas, for years to come."

But environmental groups like the Sierra Club don't buy Seliger's bill.

"This would be a new coal plant, and we shouldn't be giving tax breaks and incentives to companies that invest in coal plants," said Cyrus Reed, spokesman for the Austin-based Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. "We should be giving those incentives to renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal."