Coal got some troubling news out of Copenhagen over the last few days as it appears that clean coal technology will not be eligible under the UN's Clean Development Mechanism. 

In light of this news, it's worth recapping why clean coal technology is so critical.

As most West Virginians could attest, coal is our nation's most abundant domestic energy resource.  We have recoverable reserves sufficient to last approximately 250 years and coal currently fuels more than 50% of all electricity generation in the U.S.   A full 98% of our state's electricity comes from coal and the industry supports 35,000 direct coal mining jobs, along with tens of thousands of additional jobs throughout the supply chain.  Nationwide, coal mining provides as much as $8.2 billion in annual payroll. 

Instead of taxing families and companies, we need to do more to maintain the global competitiveness of U.S. industries while simultaneously supporting the accelerated development of advanced clean coal technologies, specifically carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.  The two goals don't have to be mutually exclusive.

CCS technologies capture carbon dioxide at industrial sites, compress it and transport it to a suitable location for injection and storage in deep underground formations.  We're seeing this technology put to use right in our own backyard.

The American Electric Power (AEP) 1,300-megawatt Mountaineer Plant located in my district in New Haven, WV represents an important milestone in our efforts to bring CCS online.   The Mountaineer Plant which began operating in September of 2009 is one of the first demonstrations of CCS from an existing coal-fueled power plant. 

It will capture nearly 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. And with the help of $335 million in Department of Energy funding, AEP plans to capture about 18% of their emissions in the next few years.  If successful, it will serve as a blue-print for commercial scale facilities.

Carbon capture is our most important tool to address carbon dioxide emissions from coal.  It will not only benefit a state like mine with jobs and revenue, it will also benefit our nation and world by making clean coal a reality. 

It's irresponsible that negotiators in Copenhagen seem to have brushed it aside.