Clean coal advocacy group stops in Cape Girardeau

A group spreading the word on new technologies to reduce emissions from burning coal to generate electricity was in Cape Girardeau Thursday as part of a monthlong Midwest tour.

Eighty-one percent of Missouri's electricity is generated from coal, said Scott Howard of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a not-for-profit organization. Nationwide, 45 percent of electricity comes from coal, he said.

The group distributed literature, T-shirts and hats to students on campus at Southeast Missouri State University as part of their educational campaign. Members have also been meeting with local groups and elected officials as they travel an 8,000-mile route during their one-month tour.

While the group supports renewable energy efforts such as wind and solar power, Howard said, coal must continue to be part of the country's comprehensive energy plan.

"Renewables are in such an early state, they're not as affordable as coal," Howard said. "This is important especially in these economic times."

Since 1970, the amount of electricity produced from coal has tripled, and at the same time, emissions have decreased 60 percent due in part to clean coal technologies already in place, Howard said.

His group advocates existing power plants be retrofitted with new technology, including scrubbers to remove pollutants, special burners that control nitrogen oxides and new systems that capture carbon dioxide before it is released into the atmosphere and then transport it into deep underground storage areas.

In Missouri the implementation of clean coal technologies could create 80,686 construction jobs and 1,407 ongoing jobs, according to a study by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

The group has daily video posts logging its travels across the country on its website, www.americaspower.org.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO