Coal-to-Gas Facility proposed for Western Kentucky

ConocoPhillips and Peabody Energy Select Site in Muhlenberg County, Ky., to Develop Coal-to-Gas Facility

ConocoPhillips and Peabody Energy today announced the filing of an air permit with the Commonwealth of Kentucky to site a state-of-the-art coal-to-natural-gas facility near Central City in Muhlenberg County. The filing is a major step toward advancing development of the project into the next phase of evaluation.

The facility, to be known as Kentucky NewGas, is expected to produce enough energy to provide for nearly three quarters of a million Midwest homes. If approved, the project could also re-energize the regional economy by creating 1,200 skilled jobs during a four-year construction process, 500 long-term jobs and nearly $100 million in regional economic benefits each year.

"Greater use of Kentucky coal in clean energy projects is the ultimate solution for re-energizing our regional economy, creating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in direct economic benefits over the long term," said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. "Projects like this demonstrate Kentucky's global leadership in advancing clean energy projects, and they enjoy rock solid support: More than 80 percent of Kentucky residents support coal gasification, which mirrors strong national support for coal."

I have read elsewhere it could take up to 2 years for the permits to get ironed out. Maybe if Gov. Beshear favors this project we could fast track these permits.

Of course not everyone is happy about energy dependence or jobs for Western Kentucky:

Opposition emerges

Environmentalist John Blair of Valley Watch in Evansville said he was "thrilled" that Peabody is dropping the Thoroughbred power plant project, which he and other groups had fought in court.

But he questioned the economics of making synthetic gas, and said "(coal) gasification has been one of the dirtiest processes ever." Blair pledged to fight the Kentucky NewGas project with the same energy Valley Watch fought the Thoroughbred power plant.

I haven't seen much that assclown is in support of. Never mind that:

The companies say the plant would have less than 5 percent of the emissions of a traditional coal-fired power plant and would be capable of capturing carbon dioxide for permanent underground storage if federal laws someday require.