The federal government needs to increase funding for research in a variety of coal-related issues -- up to $144 million annually -- a report from the National Research Council said in mid-June.
The report also notes that "potential constraints on greenhouse gas (especially CO2) emissions, and the technical and economic feasibility of CO2 control measures, are the dominant issues affecting the outlook for the future of coal use over the next 25 years and beyond."
The council's Committee on Coal Research, Technology and Resource Assessments to Inform Energy Policy recommends the government spend $60 million/year for environmental protection and reclamation, $35 million/year on mine worker health and safety, $29 million/year on mining productivity and resource optimization and $20 million/year on resource and reserve assessment.
In the report, "Coal Research and Development to Support National Energy Policy," the committee said that more than 90% of the R&D funding, $492 million in 2005, went to "downstream" issues like carbon capture and sequestration and transport and transmission while less than 10% went to "upstream" issues like safety and reserve assessment.
The council isn't recommending that funding for CCS should be reduced but rather "given the degree of uncertainty about future coal use," R&D policies need to reflect different scenarios since many factors contribute to coal usage.
The report that Congress asked NRC to develop took a broad look at the needs of the coal industry and found that coal use by 2020 could increase to 25% above or sink to 15% below 2004 levels and by 2030, to 70% above or 50% below 2004 usage. The Energy Information Administration said that in 2004, the US produced 1.1 billion short tons of coal. NRC is the research arm of the National Academies.
Among the recommendations of the NRC are:
• Coordinated public-private partnership to determine the size and characteristics of the nation's recoverable coal reserves within 10 years.
• R&D programs that emphasize improved methane control, mine ventilation, roof controls, reduced repetitive injuries and respiratory diseases and improved escape and rescue procedures, communications and research to reduce explosions and fires.
• Additional research to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts associated with coal mining and processing, particularly focusing on techniques to mitigate the collapse of strata and improve construction and monitoring of impoundments.
• Renewed support for advanced coal mining and processing R&D to optimize the nation's coal resources by increase the amount of coal that is economically mineable.
• "US Geological Survey should play a leading role in identifying, characterizing and cataloguing CO2 sequestration capacity" of certain areas.
• Renewed focus on federal support for coal-related research, coordinated among agencies.
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