· Coal-to-Liquids Coalition urges President Bush to support inclusion of CTL provisions in energy legislation

· New DOE Report highlights job creation potential of domestic CTL industry

· Illinois Coal Association opinion editorial promotes CTL fuels

· Stay up-to-date on the latest news reports spotlighting CTL

· Become a CTL grassroots supporter

Coal-to-Liquids Coalition urges President Bush to support inclusion of CTL provisions in energy legislation

The Coal-to-Liquids Coalition (CTLC) wrote to President Bush in October to urge him to support only energy legislation that helps accelerate the production of clean, domestic coal-to-liquid (CTL) fuels. As Congress continues to broker a final agreement on an energy bill, National Mining Association President and CEO Kraig R. Naasz, writing on behalf of the CTLC, wrote to the president on Oct. 19 to emphasize that legislation that omits CTL incentives runs the risk of exacerbating America’s dependence on increasingly expensive foreign oil.

“In your State of the Union address, you called on Congress to support reducing America’s gasoline use by 20 percent in the next 10 years to ‘dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil,’” wrote Naasz. “To meet the energy goals you challenged Congress to achieve, energy legislation should include a targeted package of CTL incentives to accelerate the domestic production and utilization of CTL fuels,” wrote Naasz.

The letter backed extending the life of the existing 50-cents per gallon alternative fuels excise tax credit, granting the Department of Defense the necessary authority to negotiate long-term fixed-price supply contracts and called for a “price collar” for CTL fuels to mitigate against the predatory pricing tactics of foreign energy cartels eager to eliminate an emerging competing industry.

Naasz also highlighted the environmental gains offered by CTL fuels, noting that through “the utilization of advanced carbon capture and storage technologies, CTL fuels will emit less carbon dioxide than the imported fuels they will displace,” while also emitting “substantially less sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, helping to reduce smog, acid rain and associated health effects.”

“The Coal-to-Liquids Coalition urges your administration to insist upon the inclusion of these much needed CTL incentives in any energy legislation developed by Congress,” wrote Naasz. “Should Congress opt against supporting CTL fuels, it will be turning its back on the realistic road map you presented for moving America towards true energy independence.”

A copy of the Oct. 19 letter is available here.

New DOE Report highlights job creation potential of domestic CTL industry

A new report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy found that a domestic coal-to-liquid fuels (CTL) industry over the course of two decades could create more than 700,000 operations and maintenance jobs, nearly 600,000 new mining sector jobs, over 200,000 construction jobs and over 6,000 engineering jobs. The study noted hat “CTL technology is enjoying a level of prominence in the national energy policy debate” not seen since 1980.

The report, “Building a U.S. Coal-to-Liquids Industry: Requirements and Implications,” quantifies the key employment, equipment and natural resources required to build a domestic CTL industry over a 22 year period from 2008 through 2030. Construction of a domestic industry capable of producing 1.62 million barrels per day of CTL fuel in the U.S. by 2030 will “require substantial amounts of labor in the design, construction, and operation of the plants, many more miners to supply the required coal, in addition to labor required to support those persons directly involved in plant operations,” the report concluded.

Included in the report is an examination of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions a domestic CTL industry would produce and the percentage of those emissions that could be captured and stored. In both of the carbon dioxide case studies examined in the report, the amount of emissions that would be captured and stored exceeds 87 percent.

A copy of the study is available here.

Illinois Coal Association opinion editorial promotes CTL fuels

An opinion editorial published in the State Journal-Register, which serves Springfield, Ill., highlighted the energy security, employment and environmental benefits the U.S. stands to gain through the establishment of a domestic coal-to-liquid (CTL) fuels industry. The piece was authored by Illinois Coal Association President Phillip Gonet.

“Americans almost universally agree that our energy policy is flawed and needs fixing,” wrote Gonet. “Today, we spend almost $1 billion a day to import oil, and are poised to spend even more, as oil continues to hover above $95 a barrel, Gonet said, adding that much of the oil America imports comes from governments in unstable regions of the world, with many openly hostile to the U.S. and our allies. “One solution to this growing problem is to make the commitment here to maximize our use of the largest energy resource in our country: coal.”

“CTL fuels can help reduce oil imports, yield important environmental gains and create thousands of new, high-paying jobs in Illinois and across the nation,” Gonet wrote, noting that a typical CTL plant “will create 2,000 construction jobs, 1,000 permanent jobs and produce $20 million in new tax revenues.”

“By utilizing advanced carbon capture and storage technologies, CTL jet and diesel transportation fuels will emit less carbon dioxide than the imported fuels they will displace” and CTL fuels will also emit significantly less amounts of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, thus reducing smog, acid rain and associated health effects,” Gonet said.

“As a testament to the viability of this important new fuel, the Pentagon is moving quickly to embrace CTL fuels,” with the Air Force already having certified CTL for use in its fleet of B-52 aircraft and the Pentagon expected to purchase 400 million gallons of CTL by 2016 and beyond. “In addition to anticipated heavy use of CTL by the military, domestic CTL fuels are ready for use to power commercial aircraft, railroads, ships and other heavy industries,” Gonet wrote.

“The potential for America to reduce its dependence on foreign oil by producing clean CTL fuels is enormous,” he said. “America’s national security and economic prosperity cannot continue to be left in the hands of foreign governments and energy cartels, nor held hostage to the unrealistic agendas of fringe special interest groups,” Gonet emphasized. “America needs a responsible and intelligent energy road map based in part on using CTL fuels.”

A complete copy of the opinion editorial is available here.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news reports spotlighting CTL

Through its web site, www.futurecoalfuels.org, the Coal-to-Liquids Coalition collects news stories from across the country that feature the latest information on how coal-to-liquid fuels will help reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and yield important environmental benefits. For access to recent CTL news items, please visit: http://www.futurecoalfuels.org/news.asp.

Become a CTL grassroots supporter

The Coal-to-Liquids Coalition is working to build a strong network of grassroots supporters willing to contact federal and state lawmakers to voice their support for measures meant to spur the domestic production of affordable, clean-burning CTL fuels. CTL grassroots supporters can include company employees, union members, retirees, their families, friends and others spread across the country who share a personal stake in the successful launch of a domestic CTL industry.

The coming months are likely to see continued congressional CTL activity; a time in which a robust CTL grassroots network can be an invaluable tool in helping to increase the bipartisan support for legislation designed to jumpstart the production of ultra-clean CTL fuels.

To become a grassroots supporter visit: http://www.capitolconnect.com/future... .

As CTL fuel developments transpire in 2007, be sure to regularly visit FutureCoalFuels.org for the latest news and information and learn how you can help strengthen America’s energy future.