ALEC Fantasyland: We'll Make IPhones From Toxic Coal Ash! Carbon Capture! Fireproof Houses!

[hatrack]

Coal is on its way out when it comes to electricity generation. But at least one Trump administration official has some creative ideas for how to keep it in our lives. According to Steven Winberg, the assistant secretary of fossil energy at the Department of Energy, coal could be used to manufacture ceramic tiles and backyard decks. Precious metals extracted from toxic coal ash could be used to make iPhones and other gadgets. At the annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) last month, Winberg touted this “wide range of products” as the future of coal in a presentation. “Many people think coal’s time is over,” he said. “I don’t think that way.… Rather than using the heating value of coal, we can use the carbon value of coal.”

ALEC is a membership organization for state lawmakers and industry representatives that’s known for providing model legislation with a distinctly conservative bent. Its recent efforts include watering down fracking regulations and further criminalizing anti-pipeline protests. The organization does not disclose its members, and its annual meeting is shrouded in secrecy. This year, due to the pandemic, the meeting took place over Zoom. A verbatim record of Winberg’s comments to lawmakers on ALEC’s Energy, Environment, and Agriculture task force was provided to Grist by the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit government watchdog group that tracks ALEC’s initiatives.

EDIT

About two weeks after the ALEC meeting, Winberg made similar comments before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he held up samples of coal-based carbon foam, decking material, and roofing tile for lawmakers to view. “Can you imagine building a house that is fire-proof with coal?” he said. “That will be reality in the not-too-distant future.”

EDIT

During his presentation to ALEC, Winberg also spoke at considerable length about the role that he expects hydrogen to play in supporting coal and natural gas. Hydrogen is a potential source of clean energy that can be used to fuel cars, heat homes, and run industrial plants. But at the moment, the vast majority of hydrogen is produced from natural gas through a process that emits carbon dioxide, partially mitigating the climate benefits of the “clean” energy source. Winberg appears to be pinning his hopes on being able to use carbon capture to sequester these emissions and create a truly clean source of hydrogen.

EDIT

https://grist.org/energy/trump-official-says-coal-isnt-dead-its-just-waiting-to-become-ceramics-roofing-tiles-and-iphones/

[NNadir]

1. The basic reality is that no one on Earth...

...makes steel without coal.

This includes the steel used to convert pristine wilderness into industrial parks for wind turbines.

The myth that "coal is dead" does not stand up to scrutiny of the international data, while it may be partially true in the provinces.

In this century coal still stands as the fastest growing source of energy in the world.

Getting rid of it will involve considerably more than dancing on a grave that hasn't been opened.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Umm ... he expects carbon foam to be fireproof ??

Coke is almost pure carbon, and it's hardly fireproof.

The mention of fireproof homes is a little creepy -- that was part of the premise of Fahrenheit 451 -- buildings were fireproof, so firemen were 'repurposed' to burning books.