All right, one more and I’ll let the liquefied coal thing go. For today at least.
First, note that Brad Plumer has a great piece on CTL at The New Republic.
Second, I once again want to draw attention to two bits from the much-commented NYT piece this morning.
First, this bit:
Coal executives say that they need government help primarily because oil prices are so volatile and the upfront construction costs are so high. “We’re not asking for everything. All we’re asking for is something,” said Hunt Ramsbottom, chief executive of Rentech Inc., which is trying to build two plants at mines owned by Peabody Energy.
Got that? Not everything. Just something.
Then:
But the scale of proposed subsidies for coal could exceed those for any alternative fuel, including corn-based ethanol.
Among the proposed inducements winding through House and Senate committees: loan guarantees for six to 10 major coal-to-liquid plants, each likely to cost at least $3 billion; a tax credit of 51 cents for every gallon of coal-based fuel sold through 2020; automatic subsidies if oil prices drop below $40 a barrel; and permission for the Air Force to sign 25-year contracts for almost a billion gallons a year of coal-based jet fuel.
Then me, banging my head on my keyboard.
