The worst of fracking + the worst of coal = "Underground Coal Gasification"

[wtmusic]

[div style="float: left; padding-right: 12px;"]"The Department of Energy (DoE) announced the hiring of two senior aides on Tuesday who will join its Office of Fossil Energy, and who both have close ties to the fossil fuel industry and its interests.

Paula Gant will be the Deputy Assistant Secretary for oil and natural gas, while Julio Friedmann will be the Deputy Assistant Secretary for clean coal.

Gant holds a Ph.D in economics, and was senior vice president for policy and planning for the American Gas Association, a gas utility trade group. Friedmann is a Ph.D geologist, and comes to the DoE from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a federally-funded research organization, where he worked in carbon capture and sequestration. His resume also lists work with ExxonMobil and board memberships with the National Coal Council, a coal industry group that lobbies the government. He has also worked with energy companies, as well as with clean energy research organizations.

The hiring of industry figures in the federal agency that regulates it may seem like a conflict of interest, as they are able to sway decisions that greatly affect former employers and colleagues, but it is common practice. One oil industry lobbyist, Philip Cooney, was appointed as Chief of Staff to the George W. Bush Administration’s Environmental Quality Board in 2001. He resigned in 2005, when it was revealed he tampered with government reports to cast doubt on the reality of climate change, so he moved directly from the White House to a job with ExxonMobil."

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/08/30/2545271/energy-department-advocates/

Friedmann is an advocate of "underground coal gasification":

"The technology works like this: Underground coal seams are ignited, and the resulting combustible gas is piped out for use in electricity generation or as a raw material in chemical production. The burn can be controlled by regulating the flow of oxygen, so there’s slim chance of giving rise to another Centralia. In that abandoned Pennsylvania town, a coal seam near the surface has been burning since 1962.

The method also leaves the worst parts of coal—the mercury, arsenic, and lead—stored underground. And it allows for a much simpler capture of greenhouse gases—which can be piped back into the seam and stored there or sold to oil producers who inject it into wells to boost recovery rates."

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-30/exploiting-coal-by-burning-it-underground

Mercury, arsenic, and lead "stored underground"...what could possibly go wrong?

[newfie11]

1. Isn't there a coal seam in ND that caught fire many years ago

And is still burning. They were not able to put it out and if I am not mistaking it connected onto other seams. So the fire continues.
So I wonder in this plan how will they stop the fire from connecting to other seams. What if they go under homes?

[wtmusic]

2. IDK but Centralia, PA had to be abandoned because of a mine fire that started in 1962.

It's still burning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

[TheBlackAdder]

3. In NJ, Christie's Board of Public Utilities Appointee(Big Energy) Removed Geothermal Within Weeks.

For heating and cooling homes, geothermal is the most efficient form on the planet.

Coupling a geothermal system with solar panels completely removes the building from the grid, removes all greenhouse gasses, is extremely quiet and has a lower total cost of ownership once the system is installed. The tubing is 50-70 years in life expectancy and there are only several parts that need servicing. There is no compressor outside to be exposed to the elements and make noise. Everything is either in the basement (or attic/garage depending on your house) or the tubing in the ground. No environmental exposures to the unit. Primary parts, a Taco circulator pump, a blower fan & the exchange unit. Three of the four seasons... it also produces over 80% of the home's hot water, saving on the water heater costs.

Solar is not the best for providing a complete street power replacement, but it will be in a decade.

Geothermal is not the best for providing power, however it is great for environmentals.

===

But, when used for their strengths, geothermal for environmentals, solar for the power to run the geothermal system... it's the best of both worlds. A 3-Ton geothermal system was evaluated in my house. The electricity and gas for heating and cooling it currently costs $2,300 a year. Conversion to a geothermal system would reduce that to $525 a year! 2 8-foot solar panels and a battery system would replace that power demand. The solar system is 20+ years (not one of the defective Chinese units), the battery bank would require maintenance, but the total cost would be less than $10K (a net zero or better). With projected cost increases, the unit would save over $50K in 20 years.

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New Jersey fully supported Geothermal and was actively pushing it. That is... until Chris Christie's replacement in the BPU.

Now it's Nuclear, Coal, Natural Gas, etc... all from your local energy provider.

[kristopher]

4. "Now it's Nuclear, Coal, Natural Gas"

That's a perfect example of how the economics of running a utility work to maintain the carbon based system we have in place. Protecting their cash flow is "Job 1".

Thanks for sharing it.