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FutureGen lost the support of the Bush administration last week because the estimated price tag had doubled to 1.8 Billion. FutureGen is the Energy Department effort with a dozen or so private utility companies from around the the world to develop a prototype plant to burn “clean coal.” Since all non government contributions were set at 400 Million all of the increase would be born directly by the government.
I hope this is just a power tactic to get private enterprise partners to pick up more of the tab for the increases, as there are reports that there were offers to split overruns, which if true, do not seem to be enough for Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman or his deputy Clay Sell.
But if there is any other reason, and if this project does not go forward in some manner, I cannot image how it could be justified. We already rely on coal for 50% of our electricity, we know we will need lots more electricity in the future and we have a lot of coal in the US.
In this energy politicized world, I strongly believe we need to intelligently pursue ALL potential sources of domestic energy production including mining much more coal, building more nuclear facilities, drilling for oil in the US where ever it is, and generally to increase experimentation and use of all forms of domestic energy (geothermal, bio-diesel, wind etc, etc).
Naturally there are adherents who will profit in monetary terms more with one energy avenue than another. That is capitalism and we should herald it all the while understanding it and sensibly regulating it.
Unfortunately, there are also those who will profit politically, which ultimately usually means monetarily, by demonising one type of energy or those who support a type of energy. Those who do this also need to be heralded, all the while understood and sensibly dealt with.
The time has past when the US could be so provincially political. Dangerously defeating (or attempting to defeat) any energy initiative for monetary or political reasons (deferred money), that we control in the US is downright, well, hypocritical.
I forgive all of the above for their hypocrisy, assuming that the public will push for a sensible strategy that will meet our future energy needs and do do increasingly from domestic production sources.Our future needs and that of the rest of the world will continue to increase. So not only do we need to meet our part of increased needs worldwide, we need to do so with an eye towards energy security no less keen than an eye toward practical environmental safeguards.
Otherwise, some one currently in grade K through 12 will be on a future disaster commission to examine what lead us to fail to connect the dots.
Comment by Sam Ervin Jret. on 2 February 2008:
Speaking of that future disaster commission, and to the committee on science and technology, where are you going to put all that high pressure carbon dioxide. Where are all your peer reviewed reports and journals on the efficacy and safety of the technology past, future or present. The ones that show the American public how and where you are going to store and transport, of all this carbon dioxide bi-product your “clean” coal is going to produce. How will you measure any “future problems” however unlikely this untested new technology might produce might make. Are your disaster plans ready?
Hypocrisy, AND HUBRIS in one 24 hour period and on one site. It is hubris itself to think that we have the technology your future Gen needs and hypocrisy itself to infer that we do.
And speaking of K-12, I’ve seen some reports from the Florida site. You might think of hiring some 12th grader’s. Science in the public interest is NOT the strong suit down there.
Yes indeed, Hubris. But I do not come here to defeat thee oh FutureGen, only to ask, et Tu? In the guise of clean energy will you too hide your science, despise the EPA (such that it is), hide thine face from thy people gaze?
Or bring it all out into the open. The what, the where, the how, the who. It’s a public/private type complex, correct?
So, open up the books. The science books, the math books, even the emails.
Then if the science holds up, oh and explain it to me real slow, like I only made it through K-12, we can open up the public pocketbooks(some more.)
Comment by saram on 2 February 2008:
You make it sound like this is all snake oil and just another way for Bush cronies to make money. Should the project be scrapped (or never started)? It is confusing to me because what I read makes it sound like (am I stupid or are they fooling me?)some of your questions about unknowns are what the project is designed for, to test in a live environment before we produce the 50 or 100 that we might need someday.
Comment by ws on 2 February 2008:
Sammy, when a Democrat is in the White House directing the EPA, will you say “ambition’s debt is paid”?
Comment by afternooner on 2 February 2008:
Are you related to the Sam Irvin who signed the Southern Manifesto? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Southern_Manifesto
Comment by bwagain on 3 February 2008:
i googled committee on science and technology and got this Web site for the committee on science and technology and got this…. U.S. House …
Web site for the Committee on Science and Technology, US House of Representatives :: Welcome.
science.house.gov/ - 47k
but when i clicked it denied there was a site. more lies?
Comment by Sam Ervin Jret. on 3 February 2008:
Really, no site in central Florida, testing the FutureGen technologies? No Polk power plant just sitting there waiting, one of four with the “ability to do IGCC? DID your trip around the net inform you as to where all the Peer reviews I’m looking for are. Did it tell you we would need an infrastructure like that of the national highway system to move this gas from site to “resting place.?” Because , believe it or not kiddies, I like to believe too. Write to you all again soon. And by the way, the only debt I want paid is the one owed to Mother and I can misspell, but I know the difference between Sam Ervin and Sam Irvin. Don’t believe everything you read on wikipedia anyway, didn’t your mother tell you that.