Coal has power to fuel independence

High fuel prices and renewed emphasis on energy independence could have consumers pumping gasoline made from coal in the not-too-distant future.

It’s not a pie-in-the-sky dream, researchers say, but proven technology pioneered in Germany and utilized in South Africa for more than 20 years.
If coal-to-liquid technology is possibly and potentially better for the environment, why hasn’t the U.S. pursued the technology?

Until recently, it didn’t make sense — dollars and sense, that is.

Department of Energy numbers indicate CTL technology is not economically feasible unless the price of crude oil is $40 a barrel of higher, Boucher said. In recent weeks, the price of crude has hovered at $70 a barrel or higher, and the DOE is forecasting this trend will continue for about 25 years, he said.

But not all are convinced of this economic forecast.

Bluefield Daily Telegraph