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Coal-to-Liquid Fuels
An analysis of Governor Schweitzer's Coal-to-Liquids Program, by Patrick Judge, November 2006
Digging Deeper into Coals-to-Liquid Fuels
SEE ALSO:
COAL-TO-LIQUIDS PLANT PROPOSED FOR GREAT FALLS' MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE
[November 2006] Shortly after the 2005 legislative session, Governor Brian Schweitzer announced that he would be working to develop a “coal-to-liquid fuels” industry in Montana. The “Fischer-Tropsch” process, named for the two German scientists who invented it in 1923, uses high temperature and pressure to convert coal first into a “syngas” and then into diesel or aviation fuel, or other “petroleum” products. The governor first learned of the technology from a Pentagon official, who pitched the idea as a way to decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil.
By the time the governor convened his Energy Summit in October 2005, coal-to-liquids (which also goes under the heading “synfuels”) had become the central focus of his energy policy and a top priority for his administration. Since then, Gov. Schweitzer has spent considerable time and energy promoting the idea, both within and beyond Montana’s borders (with appearances on The New York Times editorial page, the 60 Minutes television news program, and even Comedy Central’s Colbert Report).
The governor has characterized the process as a “clean coal” technology with virtually no environmental impact. But given the sheer magnitude of the proposed facilities, their fundamental dependence on a non-renewable fossil-fuel resource, and the track record of the industry, these claims deserve careful analysis before being accepted.
In October 2006, the talk abruptly shifted from the theoretical to the specific, with the governor’s announcement of a 22,000 barrel-per-day coal-to-liquids plant that would be built near Roundup. The developers include Arch Coal, Bull Mountain Companies, and DKRW Energy (a Houston-based firm run by four former Enron executives). The project, which is estimated to cost between $1.3 billion and $2 billion, would also include a 300-megawatt integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) electricity plant. It is expected that the Fischer-Tropsch refinery would consume a majority (200 MW) of the power from the IGCC plant (see illustration).
In the News
- Pipe dream: Hopes for a coal-powered future darken by the day (by John S. Adams, Missoula Independent, 09/20/2007). "A tough year for coal boosters got even tougher last week when the backers of a $1.5 billion coal gasification plant near Roundup threw in the towel on their bid to try to apply an expired air quality permit to the project...."
- Anticipated coal-to-liquids plant hits another setback (Helena Independent Record, by MATTHEW BROWN, AP, 07/17/07)
- Many question liquid coal (By IR Staff - 07/19/07)
For more information
- Worse Than Gasoline: Liquid coal would produce roughly twice the global warming emissions of gasoline (Editorial from Scientific American.com, August 2007 issue)