DORGAN PRESSES ENERGY SECRETARY NOMINEE TO MOVE AGGRESSIVELY TO SUPPORT CLEAN COAL
Senator says he's confident Chu will be 'full and active partner' in developing new technology
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- At a hearing here Tuesday, U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) pressed Energy Secretary nominee Steven Chu to support an aggressive federal program aimed at ensuring continued responsible use of coal and other fossil fuels.
Dorgan, a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told Chu at the hearing that America gets more than half of its energy from coal and has abundant reserves. However, he said, the United States should lead the world in the effort to find new and better ways to use coal without harming the environment.
Chu pledged to work to develop new carbon capture and sequestration technologies, as well as other research that will help bolster the coal industry in North Dakota and around the world. He said new coal technology is “something the United States should rise to the occasion to develop.”
Dorgan is also Chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee. He said he plans to continue to work from that position to ensure the federal government invests in programs to develop clean coal and carbon capture technology.
“Coal is a critical component of our nation’s energy portfolio. There is no question that we will use it well into the future. The question is how,” Dorgan said. “We need to invest in clean coal and fossil energy research that will help us use our coal resources in new and better ways. I’m going to keep pushing hard as Chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee to invest in clean coal, and Steve Chu’s responses give me confidence that he’ll be a full and active partner in that effort.”
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