Manchin wants conversion plant

[davidinalameda]

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2005101336

Gov. Joe Manchin launched an initiative Thursday to build a “coal conversion” plant in West Virginia.

This new type of plant could turn coal into several products, including diesel fuel, jet fuel, natural gas, chemicals, and even hydrogen, he said.

Hurricane Katrina revealed just how fragile American oil and natural gas supplies are. Liquid fuel from coal, a technology that’s been around for decades, is beginning to make economic sense, Manchin said.


if it can be done, it would be fantastic

[GrpCaptMandrake]

1. Did you get the same sense that I did

i.e. that it's sort of predicated on the price of fuel being high enough to offset the high cost of production?

Secondly, isn't there a chance that this will lead not to more mining jobs, but rather to more Mountain Range Removal?

[WildClarySage]

2. My first instinct was that Manchin is trying to encourage the

removal of more coal and enrich his buddies with this proposal... what WV needs to do is become the leader in alternative (read: renewable) fuel sources.