U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-Nm) Holds a Hearing On the Energy Policy Act

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U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-Nm) Holds a Hearing On the Energy Policy Act

U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES HOLDS A HEARING ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005 ADDRESSING COAL GASIFICATION

APRIL 24, 2006

SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR PETE V. DOMENICI (R-NM) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR LARRY E. CRAIG (R-ID) U.S. SENATOR CRAIG THOMAS (R-WY) U.S. SENATOR LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-TN) U.S. SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK) U.S. SENATOR RICHARD BURR (R-NC) U.S. SENATOR MEL MARTINEZ (R-FL) U.S. SENATOR JAMES M. TALENT (R-MO) U.S. SENATOR CONRAD BURNS (R-MT) U.S. SENATOR GEORGE ALLEN (R-VA) U.S. SENATOR GORDON SMITH (R-OR) U.S. SENATOR JIM BUNNING (R-KY)

U.S. SENATOR JEFF BINGAMAN (D-NM) RANKING MEMBER U.S. SENATOR DANIEL K. AKAKA (D-HI) U.S. SENATOR BYRON L. DORGAN (D-ND) U.S. SENATOR RON WYDEN (D-OR) U.S. SENATOR TIM JOHNSON (D-SD) U.S. SENATOR MARY L. LANDRIEU (D-LA) U.S. SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA) U.S. SENATOR MARIA CANTWELL (D-WA) U.S. SENATOR ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ) U.S. SENATOR KEN SALAZAR (D-CO)

WITNESSES: CLARENCE MILLER, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF SEQUESTRATION, HYDROGEN, & CLEAN COAL FUELS, OFFICE OF FOSSIL ENERGY

ARIE GEERTSEMA, DIRECTOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, CENTER FOR APPLIED ENERGY RESEARCH, LEXINGTON, KY

HUNT RAMSBOTTOM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, RENTECH, INCORPORATED, LOS ANGELES, CA

DAVE HAWKINS, AIR AND ENERGY PROGRAM DIRECTOR, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

JAMES ROBERTS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FOUNDATION COAL CORPORATION, LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, MD

[*] BUNNING: The full committee hearing will come to order.

First of all, I'd like to welcome all of you to the first of a series of Monday afternoon Energy Committee hearings. After years of hard work in this committee, we finally passed a comprehensive energy piece of legislation last year. Each of these Monday hearings will examine provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and discuss their implementation and benefits. Today's hearing will focus on the coal-to-liquids, or CTL, technology. This promising technology transforms coal into liquid fuels, such as diesel and jet fuel. And while it has faced hurdles in the past, sustained higher energy prices have encouraged companies and their scientists to redouble their efforts to push this technology into the marketplace.

With this in mind, the energy information administration estimates, by the year 2030, 180 million tons of coal will be used to produce high-quality liquid fuels. That translates into production of between 800,000 and 1.7 million barrels per day of domestic CTL fuel.

Looking at these numbers, I'm proud to come from a coal state. Kentucky is home to large deposits of American's most abundant domestic fuel, as well as state-of-the-...

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