Baard Energy withdrew an application for federal loans for a $6 billion coal-to-liquids plant in Illiinois last week. The company cited lawsuits by the Sierra Club and National Resource Defense Council for blocking the project.
“Baard keeps claiming this is a clean coal facility and nothing could be further from the truth,” said Nachy Kanfer of Sierra Club. “There is nothing clean about a fuel that emits twice the global warming pollution of normal gasoline or a refinery that spits out huge amounts of dangerous air pollutants and heavy metals.”
While Baard blames the groups for holding up its applications, environmentalists hail this as a win against the progression of coal-based energy, which (despite claims) will always have negative environmental affects.
“This project cannot stand up to legitimate economic analysis—as Baard seems to have concluded by withdrawing it from consideration by the Department of Energy,” said NRDC attorney Shannon Fisk. “Baard blames environmentalists for their financial problems, but an environmental review is no threat to a viable project.”
The announcement came during the three-day World Coal-to-Liquids Conference, which activists stormed in protest.
Press Photo: World CTL
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Alex Felsinger
Alex is primarily concerned with animal welfare, wildlife conservation, and environmental justice. As a freelance writer in San Francisco, he leads a deliberately simplistic and thrifty lifestyle, yet still can’t help gawking at the newest green gadgets and zero-emission concept cars.
4 Responses to Liquid “Clean Coal” Project Dropped After Legal Challenges
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NO bleeping way to get into my email not forgot pass word so who do I get to…nohting on sqaurecube..what
a joke of a website
It’s so great to be hearing good news every day! Thank you Alex..
Another victory for the movement for climate justice! It’s so great to be hearing good news every day! Thank you Alex for staying so on top of things and keeping the movement informed on the progess of the movement. Your work is absolutely critical. Keep it up.
Every home, building, etc. should have solar panels and small wind mills on the roof. (a no brainer). Every car should be electric with magnetic energy (A science still undeveloped). The new tech revolution is here. We can get out of FOSSIL fuels of the past and our children will breath better. A big goal but a needed one. Greed, oil companies, are the past, a green future is the present and future. Let’s invest 6 Billon and more in green, not clean coal (who came up with CLEAN coal?)