Re: theWatt Podcast 71

Yes, you're right, we didn't talk about the impacts of actually mining coal, which can be quite devastating. I think the important take home message is that you don't actually need coal for an IGCC power plant and that the efficiency of IGCC is higher than typical pulverized coal power plants. I think Ben Anthony's research is focusing at the moment on gasification of petroleum coke and other solids that are byproducts of upgrading bitumen in the oilsands.

I'm not sure if anybody used the term green coal (I do my best to avoid the word green in all cases). Even cleaner coal has a lot of emissions, but: 1) the emissions are more easily managed than typical coal power plants and 2) it's hard to picture a scenario where coal isn't used, so if we must use it, it's worthwhile using it as efficiently as possible.

I hope to talk to somebody specifically about CO2 sequestration, but I have no leads at the moment.