Coal is also America's energy “workhorse.” It supplies more electricity to U.S. homes and businesses than all other fuels combined, accounting for more than half the Nation's electric power supply. Furthermore, coal may make a major contribution to the Nation's transition to the hydrogen economy of tomorrow. Hydrogen can be obtained from a variety of sources, but today, the most abundant resource – and one of the most affordable – is coal.

The first decade of the 21st century is crucial to the future of coal. If U.S. scientists and engineers can successfully develop a pollution-free coal plant during this decade and have it ready in time for the next wave of power plant construction, America can continue to benefit from the economic and energy security advantages of coal while steadily improving the quality of the Nation's air and water. If carbon sequestration concepts can be developed and deployed, concerns over the impact of coal use on the global climate can also be reduced or perhaps, one day, eliminated.

Market and Policy Drivers
Coal is a major reason why U.S. consumers benefit from some of the lowest cost electricity of any free-market economy. Industry reports show that 22 of the 25 power plants with the lowest operating costs in the United States are fueled by coal. Since more than 95 percent of the coal consumed by Americans is mined within the United States, coal's pricing and availability are not subject to foreign embargo or cartel-driven pricing.

Abundant, low-cost, secure – all are factors that have made coal a mainstay of America's energy mix. Yet, throughout its long history, coal's considerable energy potential has been accompanied by equally significant challenges. Much of coal's challenge in the 21st century will center on its effect on the environment and human health. MORE >

NETL's Contributions
Development of clean, secure, and reliable coal and power systems is a central mission of NETL. The Laboratory's portfolio encompasses advanced pollution controls for today's power plants as well as breakthrough technologies for tomorrow's power systems.

• For existing coal power plants, NETL's R&D focuses on advanced, cost-effective environmental controls, addressing mercury, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulates, and recycling of coal utilization byproducts. NETL also is developing technologies to better manage the use and quality of water in power plants and mining operations.
• For the longer term, NETL is developing technologies that will enable future coal power systems to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and environmental performance. Much of this work addresses the next generation of central power plants. Other work focuses on distributed power generation systems – some incorporating fuel cells or microturbines – that produce electricity at the point of use. NETL programs encompass not only technology research and development, but also demonstrations of advanced coal-based power systems – including a prototype near-zero-emissions FutureGen plant.

NETL also manages R&D contracts in two other areas of significance to coal and power systems:

• In the carbon sequestration area, R&D is focused on technologies with great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and controlling global climate change. Most efforts focus on carbon dioxide from large stationary sources. Control of fugitive methane emissions is also addressed.
• Through its work in hydrogen and clean fuels, NETL is furthering our Nation's capabilities to use coal as an affordable source of hydrogen for fuel cells and other applications.
• In addition, NETL applies its onsite capabilities and facilities to support environmental controls and clean power generation concepts. Relevant areas of focus include carbon sequestration, environmental science, device-scale and systems modeling, hydrogen separation and storage, and fuel cells.