Rahall pushing to produce alternative liquid fuels

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall supported legislation in the House this week to extend and enhance the programs of the Appalachian Regional Commission, including a new program to boost development of an environmentally advanced coal-to-liquids industry in West Virginia.

The new initiative would enable the commission to make grants, enter into contracts and give technical assistance for energy initiatives that use biomass (plant materials) to produce alternative liquid fuels, according to a news release from Rahall's office. Biomass would be used in combination with coal to create coal-to-liquid fuels with reduced emissions.

It would also support development of projects to capture carbon and store emissions from the generation of coal-based power.

"We have spent weeks on this floor hearing about the need to increase domestic energy supplies by becoming even more beholden to Big Oil," Rahall said in his remarks on the House floor, according to the press release. "But we have at our fingertips the chance to help forge a better solution. We possess the technological know-how to convert coal to environmentally advanced transportation fuels and electric power."