Coal conjures up images of bygone times, when men wore top hats and women wore corsets. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Today, coal is as big a business as it ever was. A few statistics underscore this reality:

* 52% of American electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants;

* Americans consume more than 1 billion tons of coal a year;

* Coal shipments make up half of all rail traffic in the U.S.

Coal is also responsible for a large chunk of worldwide carbon emissions and in this carbon-constrained world, this is an issue that power companies and coal companies know they can’t ignore.

One solution is clean coal. The theory is simple and extremely appealing: Transform dirty coal into a clean, carbon-free fuel by capturing the carbon dioxide that it emits, compressing that carbon, and piping it deep underground for permanent storage.

Utilities like Ohio-based American Electric Power (AEP), one of the country’s largest power generators and coal consumers, has been a strong supporter of clean coal. In the summer of 2007, AEP, along with other power companies and coal companies, launched a major advertising campaign stressing their commitment to clean coal. But – as the ad claims – while clean coal might be « America’s Power, » the technology itself remains years away from becoming a reality.

For one, it is very expensive. In fact, it is estimated that clean coal power plants would cost 20% to 30% more to run than traditional coal-fired plants. Another issue is geology. Not every power plant is close to suitable storage sites. So, while areas like Wyoming or Appalachia are geologically suitable, New England, for example, is not, as any plants located there would have to pipe their carbon emissions to far away storage sites. This would require the construction of massive and costly pipeline networks - an undertaking not easily committed to by coal companies suffering similarly to other companies in a newly restrictive world of credit.

However, despite any such deterrents to this sort of capital expenditure, as David Ratcliffe, CEO of Southern Company, bluntly admitted in a recent interview with the Frontline television newsmagazine, his industry will “have a hard time in a carbon-constrained future burning coal without the ability to capture CO2.” After AEP, Southern Company is the country’s second largest producer of CO2. Clearly, the ability to capture carbon is crucial if these companies have any hope of growth in a newly green world.

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