WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today joined Senator Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) to introduce an amendment that would displace conventional gasoline with cleaner, more efficient liquid coal.

 

            The amendment, introduced today by Domenici on behalf of Bunning, would establish a mandate for 6 billion gallons of coal-to-liquid (CTL) fuel between 2016 and 2022.   The mandate requires that greenhouse gas emissions from coal-to-liquids fuels be 20 percent better than conventional gasoline, the same standard applied to cellulosic ethanol in the underlying bill.  Among the amendment’s cosponsors are Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Mel Martinez (R-Fla.).

 

            “I believe that the way to address our need for more domestic energy while still lowering emissions is to pursue as many options as possible.  Coal-to-liquids makes sense as part of the solution because it is cleaner than the conventional gasoline it will displace.  CTL is available now.  It can be moved in existing pipes, and be used in existing vehicles.  Additionally, advancing coal-to-liquids will create jobs,” Domenici said.

 

            “America needs to use all the resources we have to address energy prices and national security. Ethanol and coal-to-liquid fuel will help America break our addiction to Middle Eastern oil. My amendment will provide the same fuel mandate and the same environmental standard for coal-to-liquid that we use for ethanol,” Bunning said. “Coal-to-liquid fuels that are as clean as biofuels will help lower the energy bills of American working families, improve the environment, and provide a secure fuel for our military,” Bunning said.

 

            The coal-to-liquids mandate would be one-sixth the size of the renewable fuels mandate in S.1419, and would be entirely separate from the biofuels program.  Only coal-to-liquid fuel that can meet the same lifecycle greenhouse gas standard as biofuels will be eligible for the program.

 

            The Bunning-Domenici amendment is significantly different than an amendment introduced in the Energy Committee during its May 2^nd markup.  That amendment called for a 21 billion gallon CTL mandate, and did not require the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

 

            The Bunning-Domenici amendment also contrasts sharply with the Tester-Bingaman amendment, which creates a direct loan program for plants that sequester 75% of greenhouse gases emitted, but does not require that coal be used as a feedstock. Currently, the technology to sequester carbon has not been commercially developed on the scale necessary, rendering the program essentially meaningless.  The underlying bill, S.1419, does contain provisions to promote research and development of carbon sequestration, which Domenici supports.

 

 

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