In early August, in the USA, the Coal to Liquids Coalition held its first conference at the Glade Springs Resort in Daniels, West Virginia. Silverado Green Fuel sent representatives to the summit which was also attended by Members of Congress, energy industry leaders, union officials and representatives of the US Air Force. They report that in an afternoon address to the group, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) told the audience that “coal, clean coal, must be the solution to our energy needs. It is the only solution to our energy needs.”
Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the powerful House Natural Resources Committee and Congressman John Murtha, Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee also addressed the conference. Each Member of Congress focused on the need for energy independence for the US, and the fact that the US has the most abundant supply of coal in the world.
“I am pleased to see these powerful Members of Congress stepping up to plate and supporting the need for Coal to Liquid technology in moving America toward energy independence. This is an area in which we have been working for some time now, and it is rewarding to be in good company,” commented Silverado Green Fuel President, Garry Anselmo. “I am especially pleased that our representatives at the conference were able to talk with the attendees about our Hydrothermal Treatment Process, and the differences between Low Rank Coal Water Fuel and the processes used in gasifying bituminous coal. They were able to explain that although the Hydrothermal Treatment Process creates negligible amounts of carbon dioxide, it also allows for the immediate capture of the gas, therefore, no greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. This is significant as we move forward in our Mississippi project,” Anselmo continued.
Other guests and speakers at the conference included the President of the United Mine Workers, Cecil Roberts who said, “ways to generate coal to liquids…is the answer to solving our dependency on foreign oil – its the answer to energy independence, it’s also the answer to our national security, its also the answer to addressing part of our mounting trade deficit and its about creating thousands of jobs with good pay and good benefits.”
The Silverado Mississippi Green Fuel Project continues to move forward as the state and Silverado are both actively involved in the permitting and planning stages. Recently, it was announced that Silverado had finalized an agreement with Pickering Engineering to produce the final architectural and engineering plans for the Green Fuel plant. Pickering has now started work on those plans. Silverado is completing the final documentation for the community development block grant, which will provide infrastructure funding at the Red Hills Ecoplex site.