Fossil energy program funding disappointing, say legislators

New York (Platts)--8Feb2006

President Bush's fiscal year 2007 budget significantly cut funding for fossil
energy programs -- a decision some have called disappointing. The budget
request includes $648.9-mil for FY 2007, down $192.8-mil from the $841.6-mil
allocated in FY 2006.

"We're going to take a second look at that cut come appropriations time," Sen.
Peter Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, said in a statement. "The US has a 250-year supply of coal.
Refining the technology to burn coal without hurting the environment is
critical to our economy and our global competitiveness. I'm not going to
short-change that program at this critical juncture."

However, the FutureGen Alliance praised the budget that included nearly
$54-mil for the near-zero-emissions FutureGen plant. The alliance said the
budget showed the administration's continued commitment to clean-coal research
and development and to the FutureGen project.

"There is increasing bipartisan momentum to increase our energy security
through America's unmatched coal reserves," said Mike Mudd, the alliance's CEO
and technology manager at American Electric Power. With coal use expected to
increase more than 60% by 2030, "it is more important than ever that we invest
in advanced technologies to improve energy security, economic growth and
environmental protection."

The request provided the alliance with a "continued basis to move forward with
the siting process and engineering design" for the plant, said Charles
Goodman, alliance chairman and Southern Company's senior vice president for
generation policy. But he added more funding for the Clean Coal Power
Initiative was needed.

Domenici also expressed disappointment over the administration's move to cut
the Clean Coal Power Initiative from $49.5 million to roughly $5-mil. CCPI is
a cost-shared program between the government and industry to test and study
technologies with the goal of bringing them to commercialization faster.

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